Apart from his law practice and government service, Robert Strauss had long been a popular public speaker and lecturer, and had written on law, business and public affairs for professional journals, magazines and newspapers across the United States and abroad. He had also served on the boards of major corporations including Xerox and the Archer Daniels Midland Company until his death. In the academic world, he had occupied the Lloyd Bentsen Chair at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, where he lectured to students of law, business and public affairs. In his later years, Strauss served as Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.