Robert Maxwell is an attorney and the Managing Partner of Maxwell & Viviani, PLLC, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with an additional office in New York City. Admitted to practice in the District of Columbia in December 2010, Maxwell represents individuals and businesses in litigation and other complex legal matters.

His work encompasses civil litigation, housing and real-property disputes, medical-malpractice matters, probate and guardianship matters, defamation and reputational claims, construction and property disputes, and other matters in which litigation, investigation, and strategic problem-solving intersect.

Admissions and Education

• District of Columbia Bar, admitted December 2010
• New York Bar, admitted November 2024
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, admitted May 2013
• Supreme Court of the United States, admitted June 2015
• Juris Doctor, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, May 2010
• B.A., Administration of Justice, University of the District of Columbia, May 2006

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Maxwell represents clients in factually and legally complicated disputes where the outcome often depends on developing the underlying facts as thoroughly as the governing law. His civil-litigation experience includes negligence, professional liability, defamation, false light, employment disputes, construction and property damage, contractual disputes, and other tort and commercial claims.

His approach emphasizes understanding how a dispute actually developed: reconstructing timelines, reviewing extensive records, identifying inconsistencies in competing accounts, locating witnesses, and determining when expert or technical evidence is necessary. His medical-malpractice work has included matters involving emergency and urgent-care treatment, delayed diagnosis, surgical complications, amputations, standards of care, and causation.

Housing, Real Property, and Probate

A substantial component of Maxwell’s work involves housing and real-property law in the District of Columbia. His experience includes landlord-tenant litigation, rent-control disputes, housing-code violations, administrative proceedings, ownership disputes, displacement and condemnation matters, foreclosure-related issues, construction damage, and disputes involving owners, landlords, tenants, developers, and other parties.

He also handles probate and guardianship matters where estate administration, incapacity, property ownership, possession, or ongoing litigation overlap. These matters often present questions of authority, ownership, service, property possession, and the continuation of litigation that cannot be treated in isolation.

Investigation and Expert Development

Depending on the matter, Maxwell works with investigators, physicians, engineers, contractors, appraisers, building professionals, process servers, and other specialists to develop the factual and expert record. The objective is to identify the factual and technical questions that must be answered and determine how those answers relate to the governing legal standards.

Managing Partner

Before Maxwell & Viviani, Maxwell practiced through Maxwell and Associates, PLLC, and later as a partner in Maxwell & Price, LLP. He and attorney Christopher Viviani combined their practices to form Maxwell & Viviani, PLLC. Today, Maxwell directs litigation strategy, supervises case development, manages attorneys and professional staff, coordinates investigators and outside experts, and oversees the firm’s operations and development while remaining directly involved in client representation and litigation strategy.

His professional approach is centered on determining what actually happened before deciding how a legal problem should be characterized. A housing matter may depend on construction evidence; a property dispute may turn on probate law; and a medical-malpractice claim may depend on reconstructing a short but critical sequence of events. Maxwell’s practice consequently combines legal analysis with investigation, expert development, and practical problem-solving.

This biography is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Prior results and experience do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Explore Maxwell & Viviani’s practice areas, including landlord-tenant disputes, construction-related injuries and property damage, civil litigation, and business counsel.

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