Administrative Hearings & Appeals
Banking & Financial Services Litigation
Colin M. Roopnarine
Partner
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.
Awards & Honors 
- Florida Trend, “Legal Elite” 2014 – 2018
- 850 Magazine, Recognition for Board Certification 2014
Community Activities / Associations
- Board of Legal Specialization & Education of The Florida Bar (2017-Present)
- Executive Council, Administrative Law Section of The Florida Bar
- Florida Government General Counsels’ Association (2013-Present) (President 2015-2016)
- Board Certification in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice (SFGAP) (2007-Present)
- SFGAP Board Certification Committee (2013-2017) (Chair 2016-2017)
- Administrative Law Section of The Florida Bar
- Member, Florida Bankers Association (FBA)
- Tallahassee Bar Association – 2010-2011
- Labor and Employment Law Section of The Florida Bar - Long Range Planning Committee (2010-2011)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Administrative Law Section of The Florida Bar - CLE Committee (2012-Present) (Pat Dore Conference Steering Committee – 2014 and 2016); Steering Committee (2017)
- Second Judicial Circuit Professionalism Panel (2012-Present)
- FSU College of Law 1L Oral Argument Judge (2016 and 2013)
- Rotary Club of Tallahassee (2015-Present)
- Salvation Army Bell Ringer (2015 and 2012)
- Maclay High School Mock Trial Team Attorney Coach (2011-Present)
- Boy Scouts of America - Pack 109 Tiger Cub Leader (2011-2012) - Pack 112 Cub Scout Parent Assistant/ Co-Den Leader (2012-2016)
- Florida Elite Soccer Academy U15 Boys’ Premier Head Soccer Coach (2017-Present)
- Tallahassee Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Youth Soccer Coach (2016)
- Top of Florida Youth Soccer Coach (2015-2016)
- ASG/Warner Youth Soccer Coach (2015)
- Tallahassee Parks and Rec. Youth Soccer Coach (2012-2015) YMCA Youth Soccer Coach (2013)
- Capital Soccer Association Coach/Assistant Coach (2010-2012)
- Shriners International (2009-Present)
- High School Mock Trial Judge (1997-1998)
In the News
Florida Trend, "Marijuana in Florida: This Bud's for Us"
September 24, 2019
July 28, 2019
Law360 quotes Colin Roopnarine in, "Setbacks Shake Up Fla.'s Medical Marijuana Rollout"
August 16, 2018
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
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
January 18, 2017
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
January 12, 2017
January 5, 2017
November 9, 2016
November 8, 2016
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
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
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
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
June 9, 2019
Attorney General Nominee, William Barr, and Fixing Florida’s Medical Marijuana Industry
January 28, 2019
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
September 17, 2017
“What Was That You Said...A Compliance Examination?”
August 28, 2017
July 30, 2017
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
October 16, 2016
Prior Affiliations
- Florida State Office of Financial Regulation
- State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- State of Florida Public Employees’ Relations Commission
- State of Florida Department of Financial Services
- State of Florida Department of Community Affairs