Robin B. Wagner

Robin B. Wagner

Equity Partner

rwagner@pittlawpc.com 

LinkedIn 
  

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 
  

Up Coming Lawyers 2019 Badge - Honoree

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