Robert El-Jaouhari

Robert is an associate attorney in Cranfill Sumner’s (Cranfill Sumner) Raleigh office, where he advises clients in general civil matters and argues their best interests in North Carolina’s state and federal courts. In addition to liability defense, Robert practices in commercial contracts and litigation, collections and foreclosures, and representing creditors in bankruptcy. He serves on the Cranfill Sumner COVID-19 Response Team.

As an advisor Robert’s goal is efficient counsel focused on his clients’ ultimate outcomes.  As a litigator, he balances zealous advocacy with clear, effective presentation. When matters turn complex, Robert takes pride in close analysis of legal and factual issues.  He has thus represented construction contractors, commercial developers, and other individuals and small and large businesses in hotly contested lawsuits, where he clarifies the issues at stake to judges at the trial and appellate level.

Robert formerly practiced general civil litigation and commercial real estate in Greensboro, North Carolina, and practices in North Carolina’s state courts and federal district and bankruptcy courts.  A Raleigh native, Robert earned undergraduate degrees in philosophy and history at NC State University before earning a master’s in philosophy from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Robert ultimately studied law at the University of North Carolina, where he graduated with honors after serving on the First Amendment Law Review and the Holderness Moot Court’s international law team.

Results

• Earned dismissal of a winning bidder’s appeal in a foreclosure proceeding, arguing that the bidder’s rights in a foreclosure proceeding do not include the right to force the sale of the underlying property once borrower and lender reinstate the loan. 
• Earned dismissal of counterclaims and third-party complaints by a real estate seller, in a lawsuit based on the seller’s breach of a contract to convey commercial property.
• Earned dismissal of substantial counterclaims by a commercial tenant in a lease dispute, leading to a favorable outcome at mediation.

News

• Included in Lawyers Weekly most important opinions, 2nd quarter 2018  (in re: Menendez, 813 S.E.2d 680 (N.C. Ct. App. 2018) – https://nclawyersweekly.com/2018/06/29/most-important-opinions-for-2q-2018/.