Born and raised in Omaha, Bob attended Creighton Prep High School where he graduated in 1978. He then attended Creighton University graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration in 1982 and summa cum laude with a Juris Doctorate in 1985. In 1983, he began working for McGrath, North, O'Malley & Kratz (now McGrath, North, Mullin & Kratz). Working directly under the firm's managing partner, he handled primarily corporate, tax, and securities matters. In 1986, he joined his father, Jim Knowles, Sr., at Knowles Law Firm and since then has focused his practice on personal injury cases. The firm is now comprised of his brother, daughter, son, and two nephews, all of whom were born and raised in Omaha and graduated from Creighton Law School. His father remains "of counsel" to the firm. Over the past 31 years, he has successfully tried jury cases in both federal and state courts. While the majority of his practice involves handling motor vehicle accident injury claims, he has also successfully handled claims involving premises liability, product liability including a wrongful death claim resulting from a defective lift chair, and medical malpractice involving anesthesia error on an infant and failure to diagnose and treat melanoma. He has been selected as one of the top 100 litigation lawyers in Nebraska by the American Society of Legal Advocates. Less than 1.5 percent of lawyers nationally are selected for this recognition. Bob and his wife, Maria, were married in 1983 and have three children. Their oldest, Christina, graduated from Creighton Law School in 2012 and joined Knowles Law Firm in September 2012. Their middle child, Bobby, also graduated from Creighton Law School and joined the firm in 2015. Their youngest, Elaina, graduated from Nursing School at the University of Kansas in 2012 and is employed as a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital and in the Adult Cardiac ICU at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Bob is the past president of the Touchdown Club of Nebraska, which at the time was the largest booster organization for the University of Nebraska football. He currently serves on the Board of Director's for the Nebraska Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He is also heavily involved in the activities of his church. During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, golfing, and traveling.