2016–17 VSB President New VSB President Takes Another Step in a Deliberate Journey by Gordon Hickey If you ask Michael W. Robinson to talk about an important case he han-dled, he’ll tell you about a few. But, there was one that particularly stands out. “It was a pro bono matter seeking asylum in the United States for an im-migrant mother.” The woman was from Kenya, had been diagnosed as HIV posi-tive while pregnant, and had been aban-doned by her husband who had returned to Kenya. She faced many legal hurdles to be eligible for asylum, including the fact that the time to seek asylum had long passed. “We sought asylum based on the very real fear of death” if she returned to her home country, said Robinson. He was able to overcome the statute of limitations and successfully argue that she faced extreme persecution if returned to her native country, and she was granted asylum, allowing her and her son to stay in the US. Shortly after the asylum decision, Robinson received a one-paragraph e-mail from the woman thanking him for his efforts, concluding with, “‘You have saved my life and the life of my son.’ That was a powerful e-mail to receive, and it’s a story I can tell when reminding myself of the importance of doing pro bono.” Lawyers often do pro bono and aren’t sure what is accomplished or whether they made a difference. “Some people have terrible inclines to climb in their lives and their legal issues, and we can’t always level that incline, but this is one where I did.” Robinson, who was sworn in as president of the Virginia State Bar on June 17, did not set out to be a lawyer. It was not the kind of job that was on his radar growing up. “I always thought the law was interesting, but I came from a background where college, much less post-college study, was not the norm,” he said. But he did go to college, at George Mason University, where he studied 10 VIRGINIA LAWYER | June 2016 | Vol. 65 philosophy and literature. During his last year, he took a course on the philosophy of the law. “That whet my appetite,” he said. So he took the LSAT, just to see how he would do. He did quite well, and decided to apply to only one law school, just to see how he would do and so as to let fate take its course. He was accepted at George Mason and decided to give it one year, “to see how this looks.” “I had a great fi rst year in law school,” he said. “I said, you know, I think maybe I have found a calling.” While still at law school, Robinson got a job clerking for Dolan, Treanor, Murray and Walsh, a four-person fi rm in Arlington that included William D. Dolan III, who was then president of the VSB. “Bill was a mentor not only then,” said Robinson, “but throughout my entire career.” In 1985, the fi rm merged with Venable, which at that point had about 150 lawyers, forming its Virginia offi ce. Today it comprises about 600 law-yers with a Virginia offi ce of about forty. Robinson started at that fi rm as a clerk while in law school, became an associate, and is now a partner. In discussing his work on intellectual property matters, he talked of two very disparate cases. The fi rst was for a client who ran a chain of community newspa-pers in Northern Virginia, all using the name of the community and the word “Observer.” Another person started a newspaper in an adjoining community using the “Observer” moniker with the name of the community. Robinson won the case for his client, enforcing com-mon law trademark rights. “It stands out because the legal issues for common law rights were interesting, and my client was just an interesting person. He was an old-school newspaper guy. He was a great person to work with.” The client had started a string of independent newspa-pers and thought their name and brand were important. With Robinson’s legal work, he was able to continue operating while maintaining his trademark rights. Another formative case “…was a patent trial involving the validity of a patent for what really was a miracle drug” that is used to treat pneumonia. Another pharmaceutical company sought to inval-idate the patent in order to market a ge-neric version of the drug. Robinson said it was the kind of case that couldn’t be settled; it had to go to trial, which lasted several weeks. What made it so important to Robinson’s career was that he “was ex-posed to so many tremendously talented lawyers” and, unlike matters where he worked with just one or two others, he had to work with teams of lawyers from multiple fi rms. The case was high-stakes and a great learning experience that involved complex scientifi c and legal issues. The dispute went to trial. As part of the trial team, Robinson helped write multiple trial and post-trial briefs and travelled to Tokyo to help prepare the scientists who invented the drug for their testimony, both rewarding experiences. “I have done litigation from day one,” he said. “It is all I’ve ever wanted to do.” He focuses on business litigation, intellectual property issues — trade-marks, patents, and trade secrets — and legal malpractice defense, which he fi nds particularly enjoyable “because it keeps me working with lawyers.” It also exposes him to different fi elds of law. “I’m learn-ing new areas of law as I’m working with law fi rms.” Robinson has some interesting hobbies outside of the law. He has been an aquarium hobbyist for more than forty years, currently maintaining fi ve aquariums at home or in his offi ce, and keeps tortoises as well. He is also an avid gardener and has two ponds where www.vsb.org