Robert R. Weinstine

My Approach

I can’t think of anything I’d rather do in the practice of law than prepare and try a lawsuit before a jury. For a myriad of reasons, the true trial lawyer is a disappearing breed; there are far more litigators than trial lawyers and by that I mean those lawyers who prepare cases, but seldom, if ever, get the opportunity to try one.

Litigation is expensive and since the Great Recession many litigants do not want to face the enormous expense associated with preparing a lawsuit. E-discovery has only exacerbated this problem. In addition, arbitration, mediation and informal settlement discussions now result in over ninety percent of commercial litigation settling. No doubt, all of these issues have been a cause of the disappearing trial lawyer. It has been a distinct privilege for me to be able to spend the majority of my career as a trial lawyer at Winthrop & Weinstine. As a founder of the firm, I am extraordinarily proud of what we have built and the firm culture that we continue to strengthen every single day. There can be no better example of the success of our culture that in a firm of over 300 individuals, our average staff member has been with us for approximately 18 years.

I also am extraordinarily proud of the respect and trust that we have for one another and the bright legal minds we foster, and the way in which we practice law. When we first formed the firm, back in 1979, I was understandably anxious as to how it would all unfold. Since those first few weeks in 1979, however, I’ve never looked back; this has been and continues to be a dream career for me in a wonderful law firm.