Robin Gibbs has over four decades of experience in handling high-stakes commercial litigation matters. Robin’s practice, and that of his firm Gibbs & Bruns LLP, focuses exclusively on business and commercial litigation in an array of areas, including securities, director liability, contract, legal malpractice, energy, oil and gas, antitrust, intellectual property, construction, and partnership disputes. The firm is renowned for its representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in the courtroom and has earned a national reputation as a premier litigation boutique. The National Law Journal named Gibbs & Bruns to its inaugural “Elite Trial Lawyers,” 2014. Law 360 named Gibbs & Bruns one of the “Most Feared Plaintiffs Firms,” and a “Texas Powerhouse” in 2014. The Texas Lawyer named Gibbs & Bruns the “Top Mid-Size General Litigation Firm,” 2014. The Financial Times named Gibbs & Bruns the “Top US Litigation Firm” in its feature publication “US Innovative Lawyers 2012.” The firm was named to The National Law Journal’s inaugural “Litigation Boutiques Hot List” in 2012. The American Lawyer named Gibbs & Bruns a top four U.S. litigation boutique in 2009, and the firm was twice-named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs Hot List.”
Robin began his career at Vinson & Elkins in 1971 handling insurance defense cases. In 1974, he left V&E to form the full-service law firm of Wood, Campbell, Moody & Gibbs P.C., where he developed a trial group. In 1983, Robin and those trial lawyers formed Gibbs & Bruns LLP, formerly Gibbs & Ratliff LLP, focusing its practice on all forms of high-stakes commercial litigation.
Robin is Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and The International Society of Barristers. He is an Advocate in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and is a Past President of Houston’s ABOTA chapter. Robin was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by TEX-ABOTA in 2012. Robin is also a member of The American Law Institute. Currently, Robin serves as President of the Houston chapter of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms. He is a member of the Texas Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Houston Bar Associations. Robin is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation. Gibbs & Bruns is a member of the HBA’s Equal Access to Justice Program; the firm received the 2009 Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Award.
Robin serves as a Trustee on The University of Texas Law School Foundation. He has served on the Executive Committee of The University of Texas Law Alumni Association (2002-2003); and was President of the Texas Law Review Association (1999-2000). Robin was the recipient of the 2010 Dean Leon Green Award from the Texas Law Review Association. Every fall, UT law students take part in the Gibbs & Bruns Moot Court Competition which is judged, in the final rounds, by Gibbs & Bruns lawyers.
Robin has received numerous accolades from peers, clients, and legal industry groups. He was named to Legal Media’s World’s Leading Litigation Lawyers, as well as to the Top 25 US Litigators list by Expert Guides to the Leading Lawyers – Best of the Best USA. Robin is listed on the Top 15 Trial Lawyers in US list by International Commercial Litigation, and is recognized as one of the US’s Leading Trial Lawyers by Legal 500. Robin is named in The Best Lawyers in America for: Antitrust, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice and Securities Law; and was named Best Lawyers’ Houston “Securities Lawyer of the Year” 2012 and “Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year” 2011. Chambers USA named Robin to its Nationwide Top Trial Lawyers List and has recognized Robin as a Leading Trial Lawyer, since 2003, in the areas of Commercial and Energy Litigation. Chambers Global names Robin amongst its short list of Top Trial Lawyers in the US. He was named a “Go To” lawyer for Securities Litigation by Texas Lawyer; and is named a Leading Commercial Litigator in the World by Who’s Who Legal, The International Who’s Who of Commercial Litigators and Business Lawyers. Robin was named a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics, and has been named to the Texas “Top 10 Super Lawyers” and “Top 100 Super Lawyers” lists. He is listed as a Leading Litigator in Legal Media’s guide Benchmark: Litigation.
Robin received the Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award from The Anti-Defamation League in 2008. He served on the board of directors of Texas Appleseed, and is a long-time supporter of Communities in Schools and their legal summer internship program. Another passion of Robin’s is the Chenailles Refuge in Costa Rica, a private 1100 acre wildlife refuge through which Robin and philanthropic partner Mary Nell Maloney established an environmental education program for children of all ages.