Robin B. Wagner
Equity Partner
Experience
Robin is an Equity Partner at Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers and an accomplished scholar and attorney who has dedicated her career to making the world a better place. Robin initiated the firm’s Fair Housing practice and serves as a cooperating attorney with each of Michigan’s Fair Housing Centers, representing them and their clients in a wide range of litigation.
Robin focuses her legal practice on employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and civil rights cases. She is currently working on a number of consumer rights matters, including supporting the victims of EasyKnock’s predatory sale and lease-back scheme and cases against the Michigan First Credit Union. She has won numerous settlements for victims of employment and housing discrimination. Recent highlights include:
In 2024, she led the class action litigation against the State of Michigan’s Hawthorn Center, which facilitated an active shooter drill without informing staff and patients that it was a drill, achieving a $13 million settlement.
She was a key figure in a ground-breaking theory of race discrimination challenging vehicle pursuit policies of the Michigan State Police that recently resulted in a $7.5 million settlement. This was the first case against the Michigan State Police on behalf of victims of car crashes caused by police pursuits, one of which involved a fatality and lifelong injuries to others. The case focused on the disproportionate impact these policies had on African American communities.
In addition to her work at Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers, Robin has held many leadership positions for organizations she cares about. She is currently an elected officer of the Eastern District of Michigan Bar Association and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council of DePaul University College of Law. She has also served as the chair of the Civil Rights Section of the Federal Bar Association and on the Labor and Employment Law Council of the Michigan Bar Association.
Robin’s legal career began with a clerkship for Hon. Michael Dolinger, ret. U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of New York, followed by a clerkship for Hon. Judith E. Levy, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Michigan. Robin spent six months working at Lakeshore Legal Aid before joining our team.
Beyond her legal work, Robin is actively involved in her community, serving on the board of her synagogue, the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation. Robin and her wife, Sharon, live in Ann Arbor, Michigan with their dog Casper. They love to golf, camp, and hike around Michigan.
Education
Depaul College of Law, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude, Order of the Coif
Harvard University, Ph.D., East Asian Languages
Princeton University, B.A., East Asian Studies - Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
Michigan State Bar
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Professional Recognitions
Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Women of Law - 2024
Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers – 2024
Michigan Lawyers Weekly Rising Star Award – 2019
In the News
Michigan First Credit Union customers upset after losing thousands to fraud
Detroit Free Press, October 27, 2024
Michigan to pay $13M after unannounced shooter drill at child psych hospital
The Washington Post, October 17, 2024
Michigan is paying $13M after shooter drill terrified psychiatric hospital for kids
Associated Press, October 15, 2024
MiLW announces Class of 2024 Influential Women of Law
Michigan Lawyers Weekly, August 12, 2024
Contact Robin
(248) 398-9800 phone
(248) 268-7996 fax
Selected Publications
STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATION: How Policies, Rules, and Industry Practices Obstruct Fair Housing
by Robin Wagner
Laches Magazine, Oakland County Bar Association, March 2024
Requiem for Footnote 4
by Robin Wagner
The Federal Lawyer, July/August 2022
Beyond redlining: The current state of housing discrimination
by Robin Wagner
Michigan Bar Journal, January 2022
Fair Housing Guide for the Pro Bono Attorney and Others
by Robin Wagner
Practical Guidance
SLAYING THE ‘MINI-TRIALS’ BOGEYMAN: Reexamining Other-Acts Evidence and Its Relevance in Employment Discrimination
by Robin Wagner
Laches Magazine, Oakland County Bar Association