Focusing on Family and Service
An Interview with HBA President Rocky Robinson

THL: Tell me about your family and where you grew up.

Robinson: I was born in Aurora, Illinois, which today is a town of about 150,000 people, approximately 50 miles west of Chicago. I grew up in the northern Illinois area, where I lived in five small towns, the largest with a population of about 5,000, all within an hour’s drive of Chicago. My parents were both schoolteachers. My father was a high school principal and superintendent, and we moved around a bit. I have one brother, who is the Dean of Admissions at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. That happens to be the alma mater of a former HBA president, Judge Andy Hanen.

THL: How did you get to Houston?

Robinson: It was quite by happenstance. I went to Ripon College in Wisconsin and when I graduated in 1974, I decided I should then go to business school or law school, and I applied to a variety of both. I was admitted to the Southern Methodist University School of Law, now the Dedman School of Law. I had never been to Texas, and I’d never seen S.M.U. before I showed up to go to school there. I worked on a combined M.B.A. and J.D. and earned both in 1978. Prior to that, I had the opportunity to clerk with Andrews Kurth, then known as Andrews Kurth Campbell & Jones, in Houston during the summer of 1977. I had never been to Houston, so I decided to come down here and see what it was like. I enjoyed my brief time here, and I was fortunate enough to be offered a job by the firm after law school. I’ve been with the firm ever since

THL: How did you become interested in law? Did you think about going into education since both your parents were teachers?

Robinson: I actually grew up wanting to be a professional athlete. But that was not in the cards, ultimately.

THL: What sports did you play?

Robinson: I played football, basketball and base-ball, and I ran track. I also played golf, recreationally. But I always thought about being a lawyer. There are some parallels between athletic competition and litigation. I have always enjoyed the competition.

THL: In what areas of the law do you specialize?

Robinson: I’ve always done general litigation, principally commercial litigation on the defense side, although I have also handled some plaintiffs’ cases in the commercial litigation area. Like many young lawyers, I started out handling smaller, personal injury cases such as railroad crossing accidents and Federal Employer’s Liability Act cases, on the defense side. I also handled a lot of employment cases. But today, I handle mainly commercial litigation, representing officers and directors of companies, representing shareholders, handling insurance coverage actions, class actions, securities cases and other business disputes.

THL: It seems to be unusual these days to have been with the same firm your entire career.

Robinson: I sometimes joke with some of my colleagues who are in the same situation that we are “dinosaurs.” There aren’t many lawyers now who come out of law school, go to work for a firm, and are still with the same firm 25 years later. Here at Andrews Kurth, there happens to be four of us, all from the same graduating class at S.M.U., who started with the firm at the same time and are still here. I believe there were 11 people in my partnership class, and six of us are still with the firm. I made partner in January 1986, and I remember it was the day of the Challenger disaster.

THL: How did you get involved with the Houston Bar Association? Were you involved with the Houston Young Lawyers Association?

Robinson: I was a member of the HYLA and was involved in activities from time to time, but not as actively as I probably should have been. It was not a priority with me at the time. After I was disqualified by age from the HYLA, I would from time to time involve myself in HBA activities. But, candidly, I am an example of how it’s never too late to get involved. It’s not something you have to start when you get out of law school. In 1999, I got a call from the then president of the Bar, Andy Hanen, now Judge Andy Hanen of the Southern District, who is a former partner of mine. There was a vacancy on the HBA board. Andrews Kurth, as a firm, had not been active in the bar for some time, at least in terms of having someone on the board. Andy asked me if I would serve out an unexpired term and perhaps run again, and I said yes. That’s how I got involved. I have to say I missed out on a lot of things by not becoming more involved in bar activities in those earlier years. I’ve really enjoyed being on the board. Like a lot of people, I didn’t really know everything that the Bar did and all of the benefits it provided to its members and the community. It’s been very eye opening and rewarding.

THL: What do you think the role of the organized bar should be in society today?

Robinson: I think it should be two-fold. It’s all based on service. The Bar should focus on service to the profession, on helping to make our profession better. And while service to the profession is important, service to the community is more important. As lawyers, we need to give back something to the community in which we live. It doesn’t necessarily have to be through the bar association, although that is certainly an appropriate vehicle. We also should take positions on issues that affect society, from an education standpoint. We are prohibited from lobbying, but we can educate the public about important issues that affect their relationship with the legal system, and our members on issues that may affect the practice of law and their professional lives. I think we have an obligation to do that, and to take a position, if warranted, with regard to those issues.

THL: What do you see as the role of the bar president?

Robinson: Certainly one role is as the spokesperson for the Bar, during the year that he or she serves as president. I also believe the president helps to shape and build consensus among bar leadership, whether it is members of the board, committee chairs or section councils, so the bar can move forward on an issue or a program. I also think the president has a role in providing strategic vision for the bar. The president only serves for one year, so oftentimes you are able to plant the seeds of an idea and have it carried forward by your successors. For example, two years ago Tom Godbold started our “Year of Giving” blood drive. He is no longer the president, but we have carried forward with that initiative and been very successful with it. We’re not like elected politicians that have two years or four years to implement an agenda. But the president can get a project started, get the groundwork done, and then your successors can move forward with it.

THL: What are some of the things you would like to focus on during your administration?

Robinson: One focus this year is to continue, within our profession, to improve our relationships with our sections. Also, we are looking at all of our community programs to see where we might do a better job in delivering services to the public and to our members. Some programs are operating as well as they can, while others need to be fine tuned a bit. This year is the 20th anniversary of the John J. Eikenburg Fun Run that benefits the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation, and we will plan some special ways to celebrate that 20th year. And we have other programs that are commemorating milestones, such as the 30th year of the Juvenile Justice Mock Trial Program and the 10th year of publishing our free legal handbooks, which we now offer in five languages.
In terms of my personal initiatives, one of my goals is to better educate the public on domestic abuse and violence issues, which are not unique to any socio-economic strata in society. The problem crosses all parts of our culture and our society throughout the country. In Houston, we have the Houston Area Women’s Center, an organization that has devoted itself to domestic abuse and violence issues for several decades. We are looking into partnering with the Houston Area Women’s Center on programs that will educate the public and our profession. We will focus on those programs during October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The other focus will be adoption. There are many children here in Harris County and in the United States who need families. There are a lot of legal issues that have arisen over the last two decades involving adoptions. November is National Adoption Month, so we will highlight those programs.

THL: Did you have mentors when you were growing up, or in your legal career?

Robinson: My parents were both strong role models in my life. My father was a basketball, track and baseball coach, and then went into school administration. He happened to be my high school principal, which had its advantages and its disadvantages. My mother taught special education and worked with students with all types of learning disabilities. She still does that, from time to time, at the college level. My father is now deceased, and my mother lives outside of Chicago in Elburn, Illinois, where I began my sophomore year in high school. My college football coach was also a role model. His name was John Storzer. He was an unusual guy, and it probably wasn’t until long after I graduated that I appreciated the impact that he had on my life, in terms of helping to develop whatever modest leadership qualities I have. He passed away in 1973, actually with two games left in my senior year of college football.
Here in the law firm, I would have to say that my principal mentor was Clint Morse, although I did not work directly with him very often. He was our managing partner when I started with the firm. Even though I didn’t work with him very often, I interacted with him a lot and learned a lot from him in terms of dealing with people and problems on a day to day basis. At the end of the day, whether you are a trial lawyer or a transactional lawyer, the real objective is to solve the client’s problem in the most efficient manner possible and to help the clients achieve their objectives. We’re really problem solvers. I still see Clint from time to time. Watching the decisions he made concerning the direction of this law firm, I don’t know anyone who’s ever uttered a discouraging word about Clint.

THL: What do you think has changed most about the practice of law since you began practicing?

Robinson: Certainly the most visible change is technology. When I started practicing law in 1978, I don’t think we even had fax machines. In terms of the computer age, utilizing the Internet has made the practice of law much more efficient, even for people like myself who are technologically challenged. Look how it has changed the face of the HBA, in terms of how we communicate with each other and with our members. We will soon consider whether to implement things like electronic voting, not only for our officers and directors, but also for voting on various issues that come before the bar. There have also been changes in terms of client relationships. It is a much more competitive atmosphere for clients, and client loyalty is not what it used to be. Clients now hire lawyers and not necessarily law firms. When I started practicing law, a law firm might have been the outside general counsel for a particular company and handle all of its legal work. Now, that same company may have ten different law firms handling its affairs in different areas, because that is how that company’s leadership has decided they can get their problems solved in the most efficient fashion. Certainly we’ve had substantive changes in the law, but that’s just part of the evolution of the law. Those types of changes will never stop. Someone who is in my position 30 years from now is going to have a markedly different professional life experience.

THL: Tell me about your immediate family.

Robinson: My wife, Debbie, and I will celebrate our 23rd anniversary this coming February. We have three children. We have a daughter, Haley, who is 17 and will be a senior in high school next year. We have a daughter, Jordan, who is 13 and will be going into eighth grade next year. And we have a son, Duncan, who is 10 and will start the fifth grade next year.

THL: What do you like to do outside of the practice of law?

Robinson: I’ve always been involved in athletics, and I’ve been involved in my children’s athletic endeavors as both a coach and a spectator. My oldest daughter plays field hockey and soccer and runs track. My youngest daughter plays field hockey and soccer, but she is also quite an artist and she likes horseback riding. My son plays football, basketball and baseball. He does things that most active boys his age do. I also enjoy playing golf, and I enjoy traveling.

THL: Where would you most like to visit?

Robinson: I’d like to go back to Scotland and play some more golf. I was there about 15 years ago, and I’d like to go back. I have traveled through most of the United States, but some day I would like to do more international traveling, whether it’s through the practice of law or for other reasons.

THL: Is there anything else you would like to bring out in this interview that you would like HBA members to know or think about?

Robinson: We have one of the finest bar associations in the country, and I’m not sure that all of our members know that. Our bar is a model for other bar associations, not only in the State of Texas, but elsewhere in the United States. We are often consulted by other bar associations on issues where we have been successful. I would like our members to know that. I’d like those lawyers who are not members of the HBA to think about joining the bar and to consider the types of benefits that we provide to our membership. For instance, I don’t know if everyone knows that you can cover your entire CLE obligation, for free, by attending HBA-sponsored CLE programs. That’s 15 hours a year, and we provide over 100 hours of free CLE a year.
The last thing I would like our membership to think about is, again, what we are all about. And that’s service to our profession and service to our community. Think about ways that you, as a lawyer, can give back something to your community or your profession, whether it’s taking a case through the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, whether it’s spending a Saturday morning cleaning up MacGregor Park, whether it’s volunteering at one or more Special Olympics activities or whether it’s simply showing up and donating a pint of blood. Those are all things we do for the community. I would like our members to think about that, and to think about carving out a few hours a year to help on those projects.

< BACK TO TOP >