Robbins: Coming full circle
My path towards law was unconventional.
My first undergrad degree was in genetics. And then I got a second and then a third. I spent five years in grad school — genetics and human physiology — was accepted to, and did a short cameo in, medical school and then I sat down with myself to try to figure out what I truly wanted to do with myself. I decided finally to try law school which, much to my surprise, I loved.
In my youthful angst, I knew that one day I would actually have to make a living and help support a family.
Tentative as I was, and hedging my bets, I started law school parttime in night school. After my first year, when I knew that I would see this law school thing through to the end, I transferred to day classes, accelerated by going to school in the summers, and graduated on time. I was fortunate to be selected to the Law Review and passed the California Bar on my first swing of that particular bat. Two years later, in addition to the California Bar, I was admitted to the Bar of Colorado where I knew I ultimately wanted to settle down and practice.
My first nine years, I practiced law in Southern California. Suits. Traffic. More hustle and bustle than I really liked. And a knives-out way of practicing law which was instructive and educational but contrary to my more cooperative instincts. At some point, about five years out of law school, we decided it was time to start a family. First came one, then about a year-and-a-half later, came the second of our two boys. When they were toddlers, we made the decision to move back to Vail, a place we had lived for a year between my med school romp and the start of law school.
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It was a great place for the kids to grow up. They thrived in our outdoor environment and close community. As they grew, it seemed clear to me that our older one was born to be a lawyer.
As any parent knows, the growing up happened much too quickly and, before we knew it, first one and then the other were off to college.
What happened next was the surprise. The older one who was meant to be a lawyer completed undergrad at UC Santa Barbara in three short years and then matriculated to the CU School of Law. Much like his dad’s experience in med school though, he found that, although interesting, law was not what he wanted to do for a living. So, he moved on to other endeavors.
Meanwhile, our younger son graduated from CU with a degree in economics and began working in the investment industry, which is where I figured he would land. After two or three years though, he told us all that he wanted to do was go to law school. Even though he’s whip-smart, I had never figured that might be his path. Like his dad again, while working full time during the days, he started night school at DU. Over time, he accelerated and completed school on time. During the Time of COVID, he graduated virtually, took the bar exam remotely, passed and, voilà, he became a freshly minted lawyer.
Proud of both my boys, the younger one began his legal career, turned out to be pretty good at it, and five years in or so, got married to a lovely girl (also a lawyer and one of nine now in my family). And then, he started cogitating — or so I presume — what next? Where did he want his legal talents to take him and, like his dad, several decades earlier, how best to help support what the two of them might one day decide would be their family.
And that’s where we have come full circle.
Although I am full time in Eagle County, the law firm I have practiced with for years is based in Boulder. We count among the talented lawyers in the firm about 40 of us. And our newest one, joining us with the start of the new year, is none less than my younger son, Parke, who promises to be a rising star.
I suppose it’s true that things come around as they go around.
Congratulations, Parke!
I am looking forward to the rare and special opportunity of being not only my younger son’s father, and hopefully his friend, but also his colleague. And I am looking forward, too, to him outshining me in every way.
Rohn K. Robbins is an attorney licensed before the Bars of Colorado and California who practices in the Vail Valley with the Law Firm of Caplan & Earnest, LLC. His practice areas include business and commercial transactions; real estate and development; family law, custody, and divorce; and civil litigation. Robbins may be reached at 970-926-4461 or Rrobbins@CELaw.com. His novels are available at fine booksellers; the latest, “Falling,” was published in November.
