Robert L. Tankel, Partner/Shareholder

Mission Statement: Provide clients and managers a friendly, collaborative environment where client goals can be met in a cost-effective and personal fashion. We use technology to provide online status updates for our clients in real time. Educating clients and managers is an important part of our practice. Because informed clients are the best clients, Mr. Tankel is active in the local chapter of the Community Associations Institute and frequently posts informative articles and videos on his blog and on YouTube (see our Web site to access these links). The firm's primary focus is on collection of unpaid assessments for condominium and homeowner associations.

Mr. Tankel has always believed that clients are entitled to have the best lawyer available for any particular matter. When cases come up that Mr. Tankel feels he or the firm cannot handle in a cost-effective manner, the client is referred to local counsel who can handle the matter in a prompt, cost-effective fashion. Few clients understand that lawyers in large "one-stop" law firms have an obligations to their partners to keep work within the firm, even if that means the very best lawyer for the job may not be handling it; Mr. Tankel has no such restrictions on recommending other lawyers to his clients.

Born in Chicago, Mr. Tankel is a lifelong Cubs fan. He started school at the University of Florida with a B.A. in Political Science in 1978, and earned a J.D. with honors from the University of Florida in 1981. Mr. Tankel was active in student government and was elected president of the John Marshall Bar Association. He was a member of the Law Review and a variety of other student organizations.

After graduation, Mr. Tankel began his career with Becker & Poliakoff, a condominium law firm, where he opened the Clearwater and Ft. Myers branches. In 1995, he left and opened Robert L. Tankel, P.A. in Dunedin and has grown from one lawyer with three support staff to add another lawyer of-counsel, Michael Milo, and a support staff of 10 full-time people. He is now in his 27th year of near-exclusive condominium and homeowner association representation.

Mr. Tankel lives in Dunedin, Florida, with his wife Terri of 25 years, their son Aaron, and their Golden Retriever Roxie. His daughter, Judith, is a freshman at Florida State University. His son, Scott, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and now lives in Israel, where Scott is a volunteer serving in the Israel Defense Force.