Robinson+Cole Managing Partner Rhonda J. Tobin is one of five women selected for recognition as “Managing Partner of the Year” as part of Corporate Counsel’s 2022 Women, Influence and Power in Law (WIPL) Awards. Tobin was profiled in a special supplement published on October 17, 2022 and presented with the award during a ceremony on October 18, 2022 hosted in conjunction with the WIPL Conference in Washington D.C.
A trial lawyer who has spent her entire thirty-two-year law career at Robinson+Cole, Tobin has significant trial experience in state and federal courts and has been involved in high-profile insurance coverage litigation on behalf of insurers, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, sexual abuse claims involving the Catholic church and academic institutions, and coverage issues arising out of the #MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to becoming the first woman to lead the 177-year-old firm as Managing Partner, Tobin served on Robinson+Cole’s Managing Committee for 12 years and as a chair of the firm’s Litigation Section for 13 years. Since assuming the Managing Partner role, Tobin has continued executing on the firm’s Strategic Plan while ensuring loyalty to the firm’s core values of collaboration, civility and inclusion. During her tenure, the firm has experienced strategic, targeted growth by expanding its practice and geographic diversity. This has been accomplished through lateral hires which have deepened the strength of several practice areas, including bankruptcy, health care, intellectual property, business litigation, real estate and affordable housing, managed care and insurance. Tobin has also overseen the launch or continuation of several diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including becoming Mansfield Rule certified, providing billable-hour credit for participation in DEI-related activities, and instituting the use of personal pronouns, which create a more inclusive workplace and empower diverse lawyers to become leaders in the firm.
Tobin’s reputation, as well as her expertise and knowledge in insurance coverage litigation, led to her election as a Fellow of the highly-selective American College of Coverage Counsel. Earlier this year, she was listed in the Hartford Business Journal’s 2022 Power Players section highlighting the region’s most influential leaders and was also selected as one of the publication’s 15 “Women in Business” honorees for 2020. In addition, Tobin was recognized in the National Law Journal’s 2021 Insurance Law Trailblazers list for being a leader in the insurance industry. She was also honored in 2020 by Business Insurance as one of its 30 “Women to Watch” in North America. Tobin is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and The Connecticut Bar Foundation, and has been active in, the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).
The WIPL Awards honor general counsel and other in-house leaders as well as law firm leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law and made a remarkable difference in the legal profession.
About Robinson+Cole
Robinson+Cole is an AmLaw 200 law firm established over 177 years ago, with a deeply-rooted culture of collaboration, civility and inclusion. The Mansfield Rule Certified-firm has 250 lawyers in eleven offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California, serving regional, national, and international clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Robinson+Cole is a service mark of Robinson & Cole LLP. For more information, please visit www.rc.com.