One day, out of the blue, I had a catastrophic accident that changed that dream forever. When I turned 15 years old, I decided to become EMT. Before I went to college, I decided I wanted to be an MP, and so I enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, and so I was in Rhode Island National Guard as an MP.
But all of those experiences, being there in the time of need, feeling like you’re really trying to reach somebody and make a difference, started to shape my life and change my mind and change my thinking. In that first year off from college, my mother had a friend in Hungary, and her son came to visit. While we were in Washington, D.C., we took a tour of the FBI building. Whatever happened, and I’m not really sure what, but something just hit me literally. Click. And so I decided that’s what I want to do. I want law enforcement, and eventually I want to be a fed. I did an internship at the Newport Police Department. I did an internship with the United States Marshal Service. I was still an EMT, so when I was in New Jersey, I was still working on the rescue squad. I did everything I could do to prepare myself for a career in law enforcement. On vacation, I read in the Providence Journal this tiny little ad that said Central Falls Police Hiring. I got hired and started. I had everything in line to become a Fed because now I have seven years of law enforcement experience. I have a law degree. I’m easily going to find a position that I really want. Now, around my senior year of law school, I got in the accident. A call goes out. It was an officer needs assistance. Driving on Lonsdale Avenue, I’m coming down the center, and up ahead of me, there’s this woman who goes to take a strong left-hand turn. There was nothing I could do to avoid the accident. Up the sidewalk and into the building. I was in therapy for a year. Two herniated discs in my back. That was it. I turned the notes into the city, and the city’s like, you can’t come back. There was no option. So they retired me. I was in physical therapy for a little over a year. Three orthopedic surgeons said that I couldn’t return to work, so I’ve been working out my whole life to stay in shape. I went to college at Salve Regina for criminal justice, finished law school, and graduated. I started to realize that I could still have a huge impact on people’s lives, just in a different manner. We started here in this office in Providence, Rhode Island. And so in the law firm, I did a little of everything, personal injury, social security disability, and veterans disability. For personal injury, we now practice in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. So for Social Security Disability and Veterans Disability, we cover the entire country. Now, right, we formed Rob Levine Legal Solutions and we help other law firms. Lawyers are coming to us and we’re helping them in the journey of growing their law firm. That strong desire to help people is what’s driven us to get to where we are and where we’re going. The reality is, it’s just the beginning. I’ve had many clients tell me what they love about talking to me. I can understand how they feel. I have compassion. I have empathy. I never forgot where I came from and I never forgot what got me to where I am.