Download Photo

Robert Frommer

Senior Attorney

“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.”

Robert's Cases

See More

Robert's Research & Reports

Economic Liberty

Opportunity Lost

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…

Food-Truck Freedom

Economic Liberty | Vending

Food-Truck Freedom

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.

Streets of Dreams

Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Vending

Streets of Dreams

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…

Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs

Economic Liberty

Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs

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.

See More

Robert's Amicus Briefs

Doe v. Reed

Doe v. Reed

US Supreme Court

See More

Robert's News, Articles & Publications

See More