The Vibrant Life of the Great Robyn Ginsberg

Robyn Ginsberg was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a triplet and has one brother, who is two and a half years older. Although her siblings live all over the country, she is very close to her family. Ginsberg is especially grateful for her sisters and accredits them for their support and unconditional love, which, among other things, gave her “the freedom to be adventurous, to learn and to try things without fear of reprisal or judgment.” While growing up in the city of “Brotherly Love,” Ginsberg enjoyed eating a juicy Philly cheese steak, soft pretzel, and you could have caught her eating a mango water ice at the well renowned chain called Rita's water ice. She has since cleaned up her eating habits and has gone fully gluten free, but Philly has its food-based nostalgia.

Two crucial attributes embodied Ginsberg throughout her life, hard work and discipline. She was the captain of her basketball and softball teams. The young woman also excelled in literature and has earned an astonishing four degrees at two institutions. Ginsberg has a B.A. in English Literature, a B.A. in Women's Studies, and a Masters in English and American Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She also earned a J.D. from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, cum laude. Ginsberg received several awards and scholarships, which includes being on the dean's list in college and won a partial merit scholarship for graduate and law school.


Someone who is as intelligent, disciplined, and hard working as Ginsberg must be extremely confident in life. What's her secret? Ginsberg believes her confidence derives from her upbringing just like her two other significant traits, hard work and discipline. She said, “I was always encouraged to be myself and was never made to feel like I couldn't accomplish what I set out to accomplish. I have very supportive family, friends, and loved ones and I believe the great majority of my confidence comes from surrounding myself with positive, encouraging and fearless people.”

Perhaps Ginsberg is fearless herself. That would explain why she purchased a Vespa motor scooter immediately after seeing one in motion in the streets of Richmond, Virginia. The outspoken attorney processes fears by “confronting them head on.” Ginsberg reflected on her Vespa experience. “When I bought my Vespa I was pretty much petrified of it and did not know how to ride it (I am not a huge fan of motorized vehicles). But instead of just locking it away, I signed up for a motorcycle licensing class even though I do not need a license to ride my Vespa. I took the classes, bit it on the bike a few times, but got the license and learned how to safely ride my Vespa. That's pretty much how I handle anything that scares me.”

But we are all human, and there must be something that scares Ginsberg? She admitted she gets totally freaked out about being in cars on highways, too much speed and uncertainty and too many people not paying attention to what they are doing! Ginsberg also revealed she is scared of creepy crawlers. She doesn't like bugs and was disgusted when she found out ants infested the bathroom of her brand new home. The warm hearted Ginsberg could have fumigated her home, but decided to go easy on the ants by getting rid of them organically.

After graduating from law school, Ginsberg had the privilege to work for Latham and Watkins LLP in the firm's Washington, D.C. office as a civil litigator. During her four year tenure at Latham and Watkins, Ginsberg worked on various litigation matters, including anti-trust, environmental; litigation, and computer fraud.

Ginsberg also had the honor of working for Zuckerman Spaeder, a well-respected mid-sized litigation firm, before becoming Managing Director for the East Coast at BCG Attorney Search. What motivated a tough civil litigator to work as a recruiter? Ginsberg said, “I wanted to do something in the legal industry that made me feel like I was making a difference. Specifically, I wanted to do something where I felt tangible progress on a daily basis as a result of my efforts. That was very rarely the case while I was litigating in the big law firm context, but it has been consistently so since I have been recruiting.”

The former civil litigator finds her profession rewarding because the position involves constant interaction with candidates, law firms, and colleagues. The outgoing Ginsberg continued to say there is never a dull moment in her line of work and believes her occupation is a perfect fit for her personality. She is a gregarious person who isn't afraid of challenges. Remember those two significant qualities Ginsberg grew up utilizing? Discipline and hard work also played a critical role “to being successful in this industry, but when a recruiter uses those tools the job is really fun and is always changing.”

Where will the legal market be in the next five years? Ginsberg believes “mid-sized and regional law firms will continue to excel and successfully woo highly-credentialed attorneys of all levels away from ‘big law' firms with higher rate structures.” Big law firms will continue to prosper and grow strategically and thoughtfully, but will likely be more conservative in their growth plans, especially in light of recent events at Dewey & LeBoeuf.”

Ginsberg has accomplished so much in a short period of time, it's like she is Clark Kent after he enters a phone booth to change into Superman, they are both getting ready to conquer the next task. Does Ginsberg even have a weakness? She stated, “My greatest weakness may be the fact that I am too responsive sometimes – I cannot leave an email unresponded to and that often means that people learn to expect an instant response from me. It makes it difficult to get any downtime!”

So where does she go to escape her iPhone and enjoy a little rest and relaxation. The former civil litigator admitted it was hard to go on a long vacation, but took a quick getaway to a place called the Inn at Little Washington located in Washington, Virginia. It was a peaceful two day vacation with no cell phone reception – something she previously thought was impossible to find! Ginsberg had the chance to indulge in “an amazing culinary and wine adventure.” Ginsberg is very passionate about wine and has earned various advanced wine certifications. When she gets some downtime, she visits as many wineries and different international wine regions as possible or, if she is pressed for time, at least tries to stay current on trends in the industry by visiting with, and tasting at her, local wine shops. She has a weakness for Old World wines, particularly those from France and Italy.

Ginsberg is also passionate about books and writing. She enjoys reading fiction and some of her favorite authors include John Irving, Nabokov and Dostoevsky and she also recently enjoyed reading Haruki Murakami's, 1Q84. Ginsberg's greatest achievement was purchasing her “kick ass” home in Richmond. The house includes a koi fish pond, a big tree-covered yard, a real white picket fence, and an office in a sun room. She described the atmosphere as “mellow and not stuffy and just perfectly cozy.”

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