Kenna, Joanne

Bob Sugarman grew up as the son of a union butcher.  As a teenager he became a union member himself; he attended college with the support of a union sponsored scholarship and later worked as a union organizer.  Bob saw firsthand the positive benefits that fair wages, a secure retirement pension and safe working conditions had on his family and on others.  He decided to dedicate his life's work to helping working people, a vocation he continues today.  

Bob attended the University of Virginia School of Law after working as a union organizer with the Retail Clerks International Association and its Local 400 in Washington, D.C.  At UVA Law he had the privilege of working as a research assistant to Professor Frank McCulloch, former Member and Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1961 to 1970. 

Bob returned to his native Florida after receiving his law degree in 1972.  Bob Sugarman met Howard Susskind soon thereafter; they have been working together for over 35 years.  They established Sugarman & Susskind in 1985 in order to represent employee benefit funds, workers, and labor organizations.

Currently Bob represents the boards of more than 65 municipal pension and health care plans.  He also represents unions and workers in all industries, including fire fighters, government workers, education, construction, transportation, entertainment, and health care.

In 2001 Bob became one of the first Florida Bar Board Certified Labor and Employment Lawyers.  He has also served as an executive board member of the Florida Bar Labor Law Section.  He is a longtime member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys and is a board member of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee.  Bob was elected by his peers as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Attorneys. 

Bob is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer on employee benefits law topics.  He is a permanent faculty member of the International Foundation's Certificate of Achievement in Public Pension Policy (CAPPP TM) certification program and has taught for the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist program, a joint venture between the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is also a frequent speaker at conferences of the International Foundation, the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association, the Florida Division of Retirement, the Society of Actuaries and the Government Finance Officers Association.  He has also served an adjunct professor at Florida International University. 

Bob has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America continuously since 1989.  He was also recognized as a Top Lawyer by South Florida Legal Guide and has been listed in Florida Super Lawyers since 2006.