Olsen On Law Bob Grguric

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Why I became a Lawyer

Bob Grguric

I've been told that as a toddler, one of my parent's neighbors was convinced that I was going to become a lawyer because I started talking at such an early age. As I got older, my interest in science earned me the nickname of "Doc." I pursued that interest at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in 1977. As a biology major, I had planned a career in either research or medicine. My decision to become a lawyer wasn't made until the end of my senior year in college when I started to seriously explore the options for my future. The more I thought about my old neighbor's prediction, the more appealing that option became. I'm sure that my faculty advisor was surprised when I announced my decision to go to law school one spring day a few months before graduation. Looking back, I don't think my decision was that surprising or unexpected. While both professions deal with disciplines that are vastly different, they share a common goal - helping people.

My decision to become a lawyer led me to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1978 where I attended Stetson University College of Law. After graduating in 1980, I moved to Naples where I worked as an Assistant State Attorney and had my first exposure to the juvenile justice system. While most of my associated preferred to handle high profile felony cases, I was drawn to juvenile delinquency and dependency cases.

I've always liked working with children, due in part to the fact that there were always what seemed like scores of kids around while I was growing up. Although I'm an only child, a lack of companionship was never an issue, not with almost two dozen first cousins living within a five mile radius and the other neighborhood kids around, most of whom I still keep in contact with to this day. Over the years I have worked as a counselor in a summer camp for under-privileged children, and have volunteered for a number of civic and church sponsored educational programs geared toward children ranging in age anywhere from grade school through high school.

When I made the decision to enter private practice in 1982, my choice to practice in the area of domestic relations was in part based on my upbringing and personal interests. The types of cases I handle, whether divorce, adoption, guardianship, delinquency or dependency, present me with an opportunity to help parents and their children with the problems they face in their homes, schools and community. The satisfaction of knowing that a child has been placed in a loving adoptive home or that a custody dispute has been amicably resolved counters the occasional frustrations that occur in this "emotional" area of law.

The decision to move from Naples to Orlando was made with my wife in 1992 after the birth of our son. We chose Orlando because of family ties, the educational opportunities available for everyone from child to adult and the wide range of exposure to the arts and entertainment that this area provides.

Growing up in a blue-collar family, my parents taught me about the importance of commitment to family, education, respect for others and their property, and as products of the Depression, the value of a dollar. I would like to think that I carry those values with me into the practice of law. I pride myself on commitments to excellence and cost containment in all matters I handle on behalf of my clients, and within the legal community.