Craig E. Rothburd, P.A.

Focus and practice areas

The firm works from Tampa and puts most of its attention on business and commercial disputes, with class action litigation as a large part of that work. It also handles consumer law, corporate law, real estate litigation, and healthcare compliance. Business and real estate transactions round out the range of matters the office takes on.

That spread covers both litigation and the advice that comes before a dispute. Some of the areas, such as class actions and business litigation, land squarely in the courtroom. Others, such as corporate work and transactions, deal with the agreements and structures that companies rely on day to day.

The firm represents a mix of clients. The site describes work for individuals, closely held corporations, and larger companies, along with class representation. Those matters move through state and federal courts, and through arbitration and mediation.

How the team is built

Two attorneys are named on the firm's site. Craig E. Rothburd is the managing partner and founder. Dylan J. Thatcher is an associate attorney, and the site describes him as a Tampa native. That makes it a small firm led by its founder, with an associate supporting the work.

Craig E. Rothburd earned a Juris Doctor with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law in 1994 and a Bachelor of Science from the same university in 1990. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1995 and has practiced in the Tampa Bay area since then. His work centers on litigation and consulting across business, corporate, commercial, real estate, consumer, and healthcare matters, with class action litigation as a stated focus.

His work outside client files is on record as well. He is a past chairperson of the Consumer Protection Law Committee of The Florida Bar, and a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. In my opinion that committee history sits close to the consumer and class action work the firm lists, and it gives the practice areas a consistent thread.

What the business litigation work involves

Business litigation covers the disagreements that come up between owners, partners, and companies over how a business runs. The firm's page for this area names specific kinds of claims and specific ways to settle them.

Disputes the page names

Partnership and shareholder disputes usually turn on the governing agreement and on the records that show how a company has been run. Breach of contract claims center on the terms of the deal and on how each side performed. These cases often involve close review of documents, financial records, and the communications between the parties.

Working through arbitration and mediation

Arbitration and mediation give the parties a private route away from a full trial. In mediation, a neutral helps the sides work toward their own agreement. In arbitration, a neutral hears the dispute and issues a decision. As a reviewer, I read the firm's inclusion of both as a sign that it works in more than one forum.

Consumer and class action matters

Consumer law and class actions carry through much of what the firm describes. Consumer law generally covers disputes between individuals and businesses over transactions, billing, and the way products or services are sold. Craig E. Rothburd's past role with The Florida Bar's Consumer Protection Law Committee sits in that same field.

Class action litigation groups many people with a shared claim into a single case. A court must certify the group as a class before the case moves ahead, and members usually receive notice of the case and their options. The named plaintiff represents the group, and the result reaches everyone the class covers. This structure lets claims that are small on their own proceed together.

Corporate, transactional, and healthcare work

Beyond the courtroom, the firm lists corporate law, business and real estate transactions, and healthcare compliance. Corporate and transactional work generally supports companies as they form, sign contracts, buy or lease property, and set the terms of how they operate. Real estate litigation handles the disputes that arise over those same properties and deals.

Healthcare compliance is a separate strand of the firm's work. That area deals with the rules that govern how medical practices and providers bill, document, and operate. It often takes shape as advice and review as much as litigation, and it calls for attention to both state and federal requirements. Providers often turn to compliance counsel for a check before a question grows into a formal dispute.

Location and reach

The firm is based in Tampa and serves Hillsborough County and the surrounding area. Its clients have included individuals, closely held corporations, and larger companies.

Craig E. Rothburd has practiced in the Tampa Bay area since his Florida Bar admission in 1995, and the firm's site presents that year as the start of his work in the region. On the evidence the site provides, the firm reads as a litigation-focused office with a steady concentration in business, consumer, and class action matters. Its cases run through Florida's state and federal courts, along with arbitration and mediation.