Our Team Working Together
 

Colin M. Roopnarine

Partner
850-521-6720
croopnarine@bergersingerman.com
313 North Monroe Street
Suite 301
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Colin Roopnarine is a partner on Berger Singerman’s Government and Regulatory Team, based in Tallahassee, and focuses his practice on administrative law, state licensing/permitting, and state agency matters. Prior to joining the firm, Colin served as General Counsel for the Office of Financial Regulation, regulating financial institutions, securities and consumer finance business entities.

Colin’s career began at the Department of Community Affairs, where he specialized in Administrative Law, Land-Use Law and Emergency Management. He has worked for the Department of Financial Services where he litigated workers’ compensation cases and served as appellate counsel on a number of cases.  He was also a member of the Administrative Judiciary by serving as a Hearing Officer at the Public Employees’ Relations Commission where he presided over labor and employment cases.  He also served as the Commission’s Appellate Counsel.  In 2010, he was the Assistant Chair, and was a lecturer and presenter art the “36th Annual Public Employment Relations Forum.”  In 2011, Colin joined the Department of Business and Professional Regulation as the Deputy General Counsel of Professions, wherein he was also selected to lead DBPR’s Litigation Team as its Chief.   While serving as the agency’s Deputy General Counsel Colin organized several CLE programs ranging in length from one hour to two days.  In 2013, he was hired by the Office of Financial Regulation to serve as its General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer.

Colin, AV® Rated Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell, is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice. He is an active member of the CLE Committee and Executive Committee of the Florida Bar’s Administrative Law Section and is the former Chair of the Board Certification Committee for State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice. He was appointed to the 2nd Judicial Circuit’s Professionalism Committee in 2012. He is also the former President of the Florida General Counsels’ Association, He has been named to Florida Trend magazine's Legal Elite list.  Since 2017 he has been a member of the Florida Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

Colin is also a former Adjunct Professor at the Florida State University College of Law where he taught “Depositions” in the Fall, and “Florida Administrative Litigation” in the Spring.

Education

J.D., Florida State University College of Law
Graduate School Program, University of South Florida
B.S., University of South Florida

Bar Admissions

Florida
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

Practice Teams

Government and Regulatory

Practice Areas

Administrative Hearings & Appeals
Banking & Financial Services Litigation
Cannabis Law Advisory Group
Environmental Issues
Government Disputes
Government Permitting & Licensing
Healthcare
Infrastructure Projects
Labor & Employment
Land Use & Zoning

Awards & Honors
Community Activities / Associations
In the News

Florida Trend, "Marijuana in Florida: This Bud's for Us"
September 24, 2019

South Florida Business Journal Quotes Colin Roopnarine in "Changes could be coming to Florida's medical marijuana industry"
July 28, 2019

Law360 quotes Colin Roopnarine in, "Setbacks Shake Up Fla.'s Medical Marijuana Rollout"
August 16, 2018

South Florida Business Journal quotes Colin Roopnarine in, "Report pegs marijuana market at $53.3B — but obstacles remain"
January 17, 2018

Seven Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2017 Edition of Florida Trend's "Legal Elite"
June 21, 2017

Law360 quotes Colin Roopnarine in, "Fla. Legislature Reaches Deal to Address Medical Marijuana"
June 6, 2017

WFSU Public Media quotes Colin Roopnarine in, "Leaving Medical Marijuana Out Of Special Session Prompts Uncertainty"
June 4, 2017

Law360 quotes Colin Roopnarine in, "Legislation Could Ease Litigation On Fla. Medical Pot Laws"
May 15, 2017

Law360 mentions Colin Roopnarine on, "Fla. Legislature Faces Session Extension To Complete Budget"
May 1, 2017

​Jacksonville Business Journal quotes Colin Roopnarine on "Florida Department of Health tackles medical marijuana with proposed new rule"
January 18, 2017

Orlando Business Journal quotes Colin Roopnarine on "​Florida Department of Health tackles medical marijuana with proposed new rule"
January 17, 2017

Law360 quotes Colin Roopnarine on "After Historic Vote, Fla. Drafts New Medical Pot Rules"
January 16, 2017

Tampa Bay Times quotes Colin Roopnarine on "Health officials begin medical marijuana rules process"
January 16, 2017

Tampa Bay Business Journal quotes Colin Roopnarine on "Florida medical marijuana delays possible, attorney says"
January 12, 2017

WFSU interviews Colin Roopnarine on "Florida Might Face Physician Shortfall As Medical Marijuana Expands"
January 5, 2017

Tallahassee Democrat quotes Colin Roopnarine on "Questions remain for businesses after passage of Amendment 2"
November 9, 2016

Palm Beach Post quotes Colin Roopnarine on "Amendment 2 passes in landslide: What's next for legal pot?"
November 8, 2016

Berger Singerman Expands Government and Regulatory Team with Colin Mark Roopnarine, Former General Counsel at the Florida Office of Financial Regulation
August 31, 2016

Publications

Growing Florida, "Hemp’s Future in Florida"
February 18, 2019

Daily Business Review, "The State of Medical Marijuana Is at a Crossroads in Florida"
January 31, 2019

Growing Florida, "Agency Intensive State - What That Means for Ag Labor"
November 27, 2018

South Florida Legal Guide, "Florida's Cannabis Law – First Cannabis Bank of Florida?"
March 2, 2018

South Florida Legal Guide, "Florida's Cannabis Law – Sessions Memorandum May Have Chilling Effect on Financial Institutions"
January 31, 2018

South Florida Legal Guide, "Florida's Cannabis Law – Lawsuits Generated by Amendment 2"
January 7, 2018

South Florida Legal Guide, "Florida's Cannabis Law – A Brief History"
December 17, 2017

Daily Business Review, "The Road Less Traveled – Florida's Medicinal Marijuana Journey"
February 12, 2017

Growth Management Programs: A Comparison of Selected States
December 31, 1999

Areas of Critical State Concern, Treatise on Florida Environmental and Land Use Law, REGfiles, Inc.
December 31, 1999

Events & Speaking Engagements

Colin Roopnarine, Speaker, "Brokering the Disputes: Evidentiary Issues in Administrative Hearings," Pat Dore Conference
October 14, 2021

Doing Business in Florida Blog

The American Jobs Plan: Florida Transit and Transportation
August 12, 2021

Client Alert: Medical Cannabis - Buyer Beware!
August 11, 2021

Cyptocurrency, ATM’s, and You
August 9, 2021

CS/SB148 - Alcoholic Beverage Law Update
May 17, 2021

Client Alert: “Having One for the Road” Takes on a New Meaning with CS/SB148
March 15, 2021

More or Less, Unless More is MORE…the MORE Act, that is
December 9, 2020

Why Hemp?
June 9, 2019

Attorney General Nominee, William Barr, and Fixing Florida’s Medical Marijuana Industry
January 28, 2019

Let’s Talk About Hemp
December 19, 2018

Florida’s Rejection of Chevron Deference
December 18, 2018

The Fate of Florida Administrative Law in Light of the Passage of Amendment 6
December 2, 2018

The Sun Shines Down on Florida – Alluring Yet Regulated
January 24, 2018

The Week in Marijuana (November 13-17, 2017)
November 20, 2017

Workers' Compensation Compliance (Securing It and Consequences for Violation) and, State Authority to Enforce
September 17, 2017

“What Was That You Said...A Compliance Examination?”
August 28, 2017

Rules
July 30, 2017

Administrative Law in Florida
July 11, 2017

The Week in Marijuana (May 22-26, 2017)
May 29, 2017

Vlog: Cloud of Uncertainty Obscuring the Implementation of Medical Marijuana in Florida
May 21, 2017

No Funding for Sessions in the War Against Medical Marijuana
May 3, 2017

The Week in Marijuana (April 24-28, 2017): "Hippies and stoners?…this is about medicine"
April 30, 2017

The Week in Marijuana (April 17-21, 2017)
April 19, 2017

The Week in Medical Marijuana (April 10-14, 2017)
April 16, 2017

Upcoming 'Sessions' in the State Legalized Marijuana and Financial Services Industry
November 21, 2016

Time Is Running out – the Florida Family Trust Company Clock Is Counting Down
November 7, 2016

Match or Clash? – Marijuana Related Businesses and Financial Institutions
October 26, 2016

Court Ruling on CFPB
October 16, 2016

Prior Affiliations