Institute for Justice
Robert Frommer
“Robert Frommer serves as a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice. He joined the Institute in August 2008 and litigates cases to promote economic liberty, protect free speech, and secure individuals’ rights to private property.
Robert is the head of the Institute for Justice’s National Street Vending Initiative, which fights to remove arbitrary and anti-competitive barriers that keep entrepreneurs from climbing the economic ladder. As part of that effort, Robert is lead counsel in LMP Services, Inc. v. City of Chicago and Pizza di Joey, LLC v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, two cases that challenge rules that block food trucks from operating within a certain distance of their brick-and-mortar competitors. Robert is also part of the Institute for Justice’s efforts to end civil forfeiture and is counsel on Sourovelis v. City of Philadelphia and Harjo v. City of Albuquerque, two cases that challenge the pernicious profit incentive underlying those cities’ civil-forfeiture machines. Robert also litigates in the First Amendment realm, particularly with respect to commercial speech and cities’ attempts to prohibit signs based on what they depict. Robert’s views have been published in a number of print and on-line newspapers and journals, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun .
Before joining IJ, Robert was an attorney with the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He is a former law clerk to Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Robert received his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2004.
Robert Frommer is a member of the DC and Virginia bars.”
In the News
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Opportunity Lost
How Chicago’s food truck proximity ban hinders economic opportunity and stifles consumer choice
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says his “administration is committed to creating the conditions and opportunities that will allow this industry [food trucks] to thrive, create jobs and support a vibrant food culture across Chicago.” But actions speak louder than words, and a new analysis of data obtained through the lawsuit finds that the city’s protectionist…
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Food-Truck Freedom
How to Build Better Food-Truck Laws in Your City
In order to foster the conditions that will let food trucks thrive, this report offers recommendations based on the legislative best practices of Los Angeles and other cities.
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Streets of Dreams
How Cities Can Create Economic Opportunity by Knocking Down Protectionist Barriers to Street Vending
Street vending is, and always has been, a part of the American economy and a fixture of urban life. Thanks to low start-up costs, the trade has offered countless entrepreneurs—particularly immigrants and others with little income or capital—opportunities for self-sufficiency and upward mobility. At the same time, vendors enrich their communities by providing access to…
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Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs
DC’s Monumental Regulations Stifle Small Businesses
Rather than pursuing their dreams, too many residents in Washington, D.C., move to more hospitable jurisdictions, take their businesses underground or simply give up.
