They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 - LaRue Robinson of Willkie

Please describe two of your most substantial, recent wins in practice.
A recent case that stands out for me is one in federal court in which we represented a Fortune 500 company in a highly complex contractual dispute with a competitor where nearly $1 billion was at stake. In that case, I helped craft strategy and took some of the most important depositions, including the CEO of the opposing party. The results of my work helped us successfully resolve the case prior to trial.

I have also achieved substantial wins in recent years in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class actions in cases alleging mismanagement of multibillion-dollar retirement plans. The overall trend in this area has not been favorable to defendants, but we have continued to rack up wins for clients, including at the motion-to-dismiss stage.

What is the most important lesson you learned as a first-year attorney and how does it inform your practice today?
The journey to being a great lawyer is a marathon, not a sprint. As a young lawyer, you want to jump right into everything on Day One. What I’ve learned is that you’re not expected to know everything right out of the gate, that there’s a reason they call it a “practice.” We keep learning and integrating information. It takes time and patience. Everything builds on what came before and you have to embrace the learning process. That continues, even at the partner level.

How do you define success in your practice?
If clients keep coming back, that’s success in a legal practice. That tells me that I’m meeting my clients’ needs and helping them meet their business objectives. I’m fortunate in that my practice allows me to work on behalf of a range of clients, from multinational corporate entities to wrongly incarcerated individuals. No matter who my client is, if I can help them reach their goals, I’ve been successful.

What are you most proud of as a lawyer?
While I’m grateful for being a partner at a top law firm, I’m most proud of my pro bono work. It’s always gratifying to help any client but the impact of seeing how your work can impact the life of one person is incredibly powerful. For example, I represented a man who spent time in prison for a law that was later found to be unconstitutional. I worked to get his conviction overturned and secured a certificate of innocence for him. That was literally life-altering for him—and for me.

Who is your greatest mentor in the law and what have they taught you?
Two mentors have influenced how I view my responsibility as a leader and how I conduct myself in that role.

The first is a JAG Corps senior officer named Colonel Robert Resnick. This was early in my career and my ideas about what kind of leader I wanted to be were still forming. He was the perfect representation of what it means to be a compassionate leader. He really showed that he cared about the people he supervised and he led by example. He was also a great lawyer.

The other influential person who’s impacted my career is my colleague, Amanda Amert. Without a lot of fuss or show, she expresses her commitment to the highest level of lawyering as well as mentoring the next generation of lawyers. From her I’ve learned that you can provide incredible client service and teach others the same in an effortless, understated manner.

Just for fun, tell us your two favorite songs on your summer music playlist.
Some of my favorite music comes from artists right here in Chicago, so I’ll highlight two songs by local artists that I really enjoy. “The Taste” by Vic Mensa does a fantastic job of capturing the feeling of summertime Chicago in a song and has some great local references. “Angels” by Chance the Rapper came out the same year I moved back to Chicago after leaving for the JAG Corps and will be a forever summer jam for me. It’s an energetic song with a feel good vibe, but its lyrics also have a much deeper meaning.

LaRue Robinson leads high-impact litigation matters and internal investigations. He served as lead administrative and labor law attorney for U.S. Army Recruiting Command, as military magistrate for Fort Knox, and as lead prosecutor for the 3rd Chemical Brigade while in the Army JAG Corps. Concluding his military career as captain, he was the inaugural chair of his firm’s military and veterans affinity group.