International Business Law | Corporate Law | Contract Negotiation
Robert Baker is an attorney who has been practicing law at firms and in-house for nearly thirty years. He has successfully served as the Chief Legal Officer at two companies during times of incredible growth. He led the international expansion, forming strategic alliances and acquiring businesses throughout the world, but especially in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He concentrates in all areas of corporate law, including employment and transactions work, plus the specialized field of distribution and wholesale law.
He represented electrical distributors before the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1992 inside sales case, Cooper Electric Supply Co. v. Lynn Martin, Secretary of Labor and pharmacy owners in the Robinson-Patman case American Drug Stores v. Wal-Mart. Bob has written articles on several topics including wage-hour laws, employment matters, and the legal implications of terminating reps and distributors, and two books entitled What To Do When the Wage-Hour Examiner Calls and Understanding the Federal Risk Retention Act. He has been published in various trade magazines and the Chicago Tribune, plus edited a New York Times bestseller on the death of Dale Earnhardt. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College for ten years, and taught courses in Employment Law, Labor Relations, and Human Resources Management.
Robert lives in Trout Valley, IL, with his wife Mary Ellen and two dogs, Sonny and Brandy. They have three kids, Hayden, Quinn, and Madigan. Robert has always been community-minded. In junior high, he petitioned for a bus route and during high school was the student representative on the local School Board. Today, he is no different. He serves on three nonprofit boards and is the President of the Village of Trout Valley, and has been since 2003. He incorporated the Village to protect neighboring lands from development, which saved bluffs, streams, and Indian mounds. He has a particular affinity for Christmas and enjoys celebrating the season – he even built a Christmas-themed Tiki bar!
Robert graduated the University of Iowa, Loyola University School of Law, and George Washington University. He spent 10 years at a law firm before switching to in-house roles. Previously, he worked in different industries, including entertainment, where he worked for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, as well as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.