Vice President and General Counsel
Dorothy Kathryn Robinson, B.A., J.D.
Dorothy K. Robinson, Vice President and General Counsel of the University, was appointed Yale’s General Counsel in 1986 and in 1987 became the second woman officer in the University’s history. As Yale’s chief legal officer, she oversses the University’s legal affairs and directs its Office of General Counsel. In addition, she has oversight of the University’s Office of Federal Relations and of a new Office of Enterprise Risk Management.
Ms. Robinson is a graduate of Swarthmore College and earned her law degree at the University of California School of Law (Boalt Hall). She is a member of the bar of Connecticut, New York, and California, as well as various federal courts.
Before coming to Yale in 1978, Ms. Robinson practiced law with the firm of Hughes Hubbard and Reed in New York City. She was Associate General Counsel at Yale until being named Deputy General Counsel in 1984 and Director of Federal Relations the following year. Ms. Robinson has served on the boards of various national higher-education-related organizations, including the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and on numerous committees and task forces of those organizations. She currently serves as a trustee of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.
