Jimmy is a founding shareholder of the firm’s Richmond office and serves as the office’s Managing Shareholder. Jimmy focuses his practice on traditional labor and employment litigation matters.
Jimmy serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Practice Group. In this role, he co-leads a group of very talented attorneys dedicated to advising and collaborating with clients to assist them in the development and implementation of their company’s diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives. This includes advising those clients’ talent management teams on enhancing the hiring, advancement, retention, and promotion of diverse employees. He advises companies on their inclusive initiatives, their diversity & inclusion demographics and leadership, affinity groups, inclusive culture maintenance and development, sponsorships and partnerships. He serves as a liaison to clients and external organizations dedicated to fostering more diverse and inclusive work environments. He oversees the practice group’s efforts to help clients expand opportunities for women and employees of color, he conducts diversity trainings & audits, and advises on internal and external diversity-related communications. Finally, in this space, he helps clients who are looking for practical solutions to legal problems related to diversity and inclusion, including helping them manage litigation issues.
In his traditional labor practice, Jimmy handles all aspects of a traditional labor practice, including litigating labor arbitration cases, conducting election campaigns, handling proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board including unfair labor practice charges. His practice includes representation of national and international companies with operations across the United States. He also represents non-unionized employers in the development of strategies designed to help those employers remain non-union by advising them on labor and employee relations through issue assessment, supervisory training, advice and counsel with respect to policy development, and lawful/positive communications; where necessary, he advises and counsels employers during union organizing campaigns.
In employment litigation matters, Jimmy represents employers in a wide variety of employment litigation matters in regulatory agencies and in federal and state courts. He defends employers against single party and collective/class action cases involving allegations of sex, race, national origin, religion, gender, age and disability discrimination; wrongful discharge claims; breach of employment contracts; non-compete litigation. He also defends employers against claims for sexual harassment; claims for relief under the Family Medical Leave Act and pay discrimination claims including cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act; OSHA and whistle blower matters; and defamation, among other tort claims arising from the employment relationship. He handles single plaintiff claims as well as collective and class action litigation.
He assists his clients in managing administrative agency investigations, including systematic initiative, pattern and practice and disparate impact claims involving unequal pay, background checking, promotion, hiring and pre-employment testing, and reasonable accommodation processes, among many others. He also counsels employers concerning personnel policies and workplace issues, including leave, benefits, severance, wage and hour obligations, employee discipline, affirmative action plans and employment discrimination matters.
Jimmy is an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond where he teaches Employment Law & Policy and Labor Law. Mr. Robinson has over sixteen years of experience serving as an advisor and advocate for both private, and public schools – from community colleges to statewide university systems. Mr. Robinson skillfully advises and defends higher education clients on virtually every type of employment and labor law matter with a full appreciation of the unique challenges that university senior officers and general counsel face as they attempt to manage the sensitive issues in the higher education environment. Mr. Robinson knows how to work within the special constraints and imperatives of educational institutions. He provides litigation defense, and legal advice involving tenured faculty, adjunct faculty, administrators, students, student organizations and staff members. His experience includes representing higher education clients in a variety of litigation matters, such as defense of claims brought under Title VII, Title IX, Title III, the ADA, the ADEA, civil RICO and USERRA, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, FERPA, the FMLA and other forms of leave, class actions, wage and hour disputes, individual and official capacity claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, and related state law tort claims. He also provides day-to-day legal advice on a variety of higher education-related subjects, including hiring, promotion, tenure disputes, tenure reviews, shared governance concerns, faculty discipline and misconduct, labor initiatives involving faculty and graduate students, reductions-in-force, leaves of absence issues, termination, and student organization disciplinary matters. His background includes in-depth experience with public policy, and he has considerable experience responding to EEOC charges and complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
Jimmy is committed to public service matters. His public interest work is significant and varied, and includes: representation of the indigent in custody and other domestic relations matters; providing pro bono simple wills, advance medical directives and powers of attorney to First Responders through the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference; and putting on multiple Senior Citizens Seminars over-viewing the pertinent and changing laws and programs affecting senior citizens in Virginia.
Jimmy is the former President of the Virginia State Bar, Young Lawyers Conference, and the former President of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Young Lawyers Division.
