Robert Parker
partner
Property and Real Estate
Phone: (231) 486-4504 | EMAIL: rparker@parkerharvey.com
Robert has over 40 years of experience representing clients in acquiring, selling and leasing real estate. He has represented clients in various courts throughout Michigan, with numerous appearances before the Michigan Tax Tribunal and various zoning and planning boards.
A significant portion of his practice is devoted to real estate and land use issues including residential real estate closings, the purchase, sale and development or lease of commercial property and real property taxation issues. He has successfully litigated issues related to the enforcement and interpretation of easements, restrictive covenants, zoning restrictions, actions to quiet or clear title, and foreclosure of mortgages and construction liens. Robert represents commercial lenders in real estate transactions, municipal clients, and clients before the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Robert was the Managing Partner for Smith Haughey’s Traverse City office for many years and also served as the firm’s CEO. Robert was named to the 2017 Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law and all subsequent years.
Robert is a life-long resident of Traverse City, Michigan, where he lives with his wife and also raised their three children.
education
University of Michigan (B.A. 1977, cum laude)
Wayne State University Law School (J.D. 1980)
admissions/Memberships
State Bar of Michigan (1980)
U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan
State Bar Committee on Character and Fitness (District A)
Approved Counsel: Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Michigan Land Title Association
Former Member of the City of Traverse City Planning Commission, Traverse City, Historic Districts Commission and Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation
Former General Counsel for Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation which oversaw the redevelopment of the 600-acre former State Hospital site in Traverse City
Affiliations
CEO, Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge (2013 - 2014)
Managing Partner, Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, Traverse City Office (2000 - 2013)
State Bar of Michigan—Real Property Law, Environmental Law, and Agricultural Law Sections
Grand Traverse Industries, Current Board Member
Botanical Garden Society of Northwest Michigan, Current Board Member
Presentations
ICLE, 59th Probate & Estate Planning Institute (2019), Special Real Property Issues: “Checklist for Fiduciaries Addressing Wind Turbine, Communication Tower and Solar Array Leases
ICLE, Buying and Selling Vacation Property: What Every Lawyer Should Know (2002) “Easements, Encroachments, Acquiescence and Adverse Possession”
National Business Institute, In-Depth Title Insurance Principals (2007) “Recognizing Defects and Examining Difficulties”
Michigan Land Title Association, (2005) “Easements: Express, Implied and through Prescription”