Roy Black is a civil and criminal defense

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

 trial attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

. He is best known for his gaining an acquittal, in 1991, of William Kennedy Smith

William Kennedy Smith

William Kennedy Smith is an American physician whose work focuses on landmines and the rehabilitation of people disabled by them....

 on charges of rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 and for his representation of conservative

American conservatism

Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...

 radio commentator Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

 on charges related to Limbaugh's alleged misuse of the prescription painkiller OxyContin

Oxycodone

Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic medication synthesized from opium-derived thebaine. It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine , and codeine.Oxycodone oral medications are generally...

.
Black also has represented other prominent members of American society, including actor Kelsey Grammer

Kelsey Grammer

Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...

, racer Helio Castroneves

Hélio Castroneves

Hélio Castroneves is a Brazilian auto racing driver currently competing in the North American IndyCar Series. In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 14 wins and 28 poles, and has never placed lower than sixth in the standings in a complete season of racing...

, Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis

Joe Francis

Joseph R. "Joe" Francis is an American entrepreneur, known as the founder of GGW Brands which produces the Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series....

, artist Peter Max

Peter Max

Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...

., and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein

In addition to his legal work, Black provides legal commentary for various NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 news shows and played the "managing partner" of The Law Firm

The Law Firm

The Law Firm is an hour-long reality television series that premiered on NBC on July 28, 2005. In the series, twelve young up-and-coming trial lawyers competed for a grand prize of $250,000....

, a short-lived reality-based TV show pitting lawyers against each other week-to-week in a legal version of The Apprentice

The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)

The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...

.

Black holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

, graduating in 1967, and a Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the University of Miami School of Law

University of Miami School of Law

The University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is the law school of the University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States. The school graduated its first class of 13 students in 1929.- Academics :...

. While attending UM, Black was a member of the Zeta Epsilon chapter of Alpha Tau Omega

Alpha Tau Omega

Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...

. Following his 1970 graduation, he received the highest possible score on the Florida Bar Exam.

Currently a partner in Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf, a Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

-based trial firm specializing in civil litigation and criminal defense, Black also serves as an adjunct instructor of criminal evidence at the University of Miami School of Law

University of Miami School of Law

The University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is the law school of the University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States. The school graduated its first class of 13 students in 1929.- Academics :...

.

In 1994, Roy Black married Lisa Lea Haller, who was a juror in the William Kennedy Smith trial and is currently appearing on The Real Housewives of Miami

The Real Housewives of Miami

The Real Housewives of Miami is a reality series for the Bravo cable network. The seventh and latest installment in the network's The Real Housewives of... franchise officially premiered on February 22, 2011...

. They met the night of the verdict and began dating several months after the acquittal of Kennedy Smith.