Today’s Pilot article is written almost as a postscript to the career of a brillant man who has been brought to his knees by his own deeds. Just five years ago, he was a highly sought after defense attorney and a respected member of the Virginia legislature. Today, William P. Robinson, Jr., the Harvard educated attorney, is facing a career-ending three year suspension of his law license. At 63, it seems unlikely that he will be able to rebuild his practice after such an absence. Despite his recent troubles, he has accomplished much:
He blazed a trail for black lawyers, becoming the first in the Norfolk commonwealth attorney’s office and later in the Virginia attorney general’s office. He led the black caucus in the legislature, and made it a powerful force. He revamped the state’s fair housing laws – which his father, William P. Robinson Sr., had written during his terms in the legislature years before. He led a commission that assessed Virginia’s highway needs and proposed a plan to pay for it. He pressured judges to disassociate themselves from private clubs with racist and sexist policies.
I don’t know Mr. Robinson personally. But with such a background, I feel he has an awful lot to offer people today. He may never hold office again, he may never practice law again, but his knowlege and experience should not be kept under wraps; instead, I hope he can find a way to share his experience, to mentor some people, and to caution others on the consequences of their actions, lest they end up like him.
…” I had a lot of responsibility and an active practice … and it’s gone.”
I remember meeting former Del. Robinson several times back in my college days. The man could work a room and come up with the right words to say. It’s a shame this his story – this article only goes into some of the controversies surrounding his last days in elected office – may end this way. I think that you’re right in that he has a lot to offer. American politics is full of second acts – maybe Virginia’s will be too? At the very least, Robinson can be an adviser for rising pols on what not to do in the striking a balance in being a citizen-legislator.
Posted by Conaway Haskins | Friday, June 23, 2006, 9:37 pmI have never had a conversation with Mr. Robinson, although we did say hello to each other last year at a Kaine rally. He is good friends with a client of mine and sent a message to me thru him telling me to run again. I remember the first time I met Winsome Sears and she said she was running against Billy Robinson. I kinda laughed, because I just couldn’t imagine that she could beat him. But I was wrong – and his troubles had just really started.
I do hope he finds a way to contribute.
Posted by vjp | Friday, June 23, 2006, 10:43 pmHis carelessness hurt people and that is a shame and detracts from all of the good he used the law and politics for. It is a sin and a shame that it ends this way. It could have been different had he used some form of case management software to keep up the unrealistic workload he imposed on himself.
Posted by jazzzlover1971 | Monday, June 26, 2006, 10:50 pm