Michael W. Robinson

Partner
Robinson Michael

Michael Robinson, former president of the Virginia State Bar, focuses on business and real estate litigation and disputes, enforcement of intellectual property rights, and defense of legal malpractice claims. He frequently appears before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Northern Virginia state courts, and has successfully argued appeals in the Virginia Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Michael also counsels law firms and attorneys regarding legal ethics and the law of lawyering.  

He advises limited liability company members on issues of corporate management and ownership, and has tried multi-million-dollar cases involving claims of membership interests and claims of LLC management and breach of fiduciary duties. His commercial litigation experience includes trying cases involving government contract disputes, complex commercial leases, trade secrets, and technology licensing disputes. He has represented publicly traded companies in the construction, technology, and entertainment industries. He has wide-ranging experience with business dissolution, trademark litigation, and trade secrets disputes. Michael is equally well versed in addressing employee non-compete covenants and fiduciary duty claims.  His work on behalf of law firm clients includes assisting clients facing claims related to their representations in securities, business transactions, business litigation, and patent prosecution matters.

Experience

Representative Matters

  • Represented an AmLaw 100 law firm in litigation brought by a publicly traded company
  • Represented a publicly traded homebuilder in commercial and land issue disputes
  • Represented members of an LLC in litigation over claims arising from the dissolution of the company and allegations of fiduciary duty violations
  • Represented members of an LLC in disputes involving ownership of LLC interests and claims of fiduciary duty violations
  • Represented an international software company in licensing disputes
  • Represented a publicly traded movie theater chain in litigation,  involving complex real estate lease issues

Insights

Credentials
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Education

  • J.D. with honors George Mason University School of Law 1986
    • Lead Article Editor, George Mason Law Review
    • Am. Jur. Awards: Contracts, Constitutional Law, Conflicts of Law
  • B.A. Philosophy George Mason University 1982

Bar Admissions

  • Virginia
  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • President, Virginia State Bar, 2017
  • Chair, Virginia State Bar Standing Committee on Legal Ethics, 3 years
  • Former chair, Virginia State Bar Special Committee on Bench-Bar Relations
  • Member, Virginia State Bar Council, 2008 - 2018
  • Member, Virginia State Bar  Executive Committee, 2014 - 2018
  • Former faculty member, VSB Professionalism Course
  • Former chair, Fairfax Bar Association, Circuit Court Committee
  • Former board member, Virginia Law Foundation

Recognition
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  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2018 – 2025
  • Chambers USA
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Band 2), Virginia, 2019 – 2022
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Band 3), Virginia, 2012 – 2018, 2023 – 2024
  • ALM, Top Rated Lawyer, Appellate Law and Intellectual Property, 2013
  • Super Lawyers
    • Business Litigation, Tysons Corner, 2013
    • Virginia, 2006 – 2007, 2012 – 2023
    • Washington, DC, 2007, 2013, 2015
  • Martindale-Hubbell, AV® Preeminent Rated