Robyn Smith

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Born and raised in Kentucky, I am a litigator who represents workers against unfair employment practices.  I come from a large Kentucky family, so I have spent my entire life listening, advocating, mediating, arguing, and fighting to make even the smallest voices heard.  My father was a firefighter and a full-time member of the Kentucky Air National Guard.  My mother was a dedicated nurse and teacher.  I grew up assuming that everybody’s parents put on uniforms, went to work, and saved other people’s lives all day.  From my parents, I learned about the influence a person’s work has on that person’s identity, relationships, and well-being.

Now, as the first attorney in my family, I practice employment law to protect these workers. I represent other people’s parents, children, spouses, brothers, and sisters.  Kentucky’s workers are her greatest resource, and I fight to ensure that they work in safe places and enjoy dignity, respect, and fair compensation for their efforts.  Often this can be accomplished through focused discussions, negotiations, and compromise, but sometimes it requires resort to Kentucky’s courts.  I take cases to trial when settlement is not possible.

I have represented workers in litigation against massive institutions, both public and private.  All of those employers can follow the law and do the right things for their workers — and the civil justice system sometimes proves to be the only means to that end.  From the whistleblower raising serious patient safety concerns at a local hospital to the secretary struggling every day to endure unspeakable indignities at the hands of a supervisor, workers deserve the full protection of federal and state laws.  Those laws do not enforce themselves, so those workers deserve hard-working advocates to protect their rights and livelihoods.

I live in this community with my spouse and two children.  We make regular pilgrimages to mountains, river gorges, and the MLB ballparks and oceans of the world.  We participate in activities that benefit children, veterans in crisis, and animals.  I am active in the Women Lawyers Association, Legal Aid's Together Lawyers Can Program, and several volunteer efforts for law and education.