Am Law 200 firm Robinson & Cole, which celebrated its 175th anniversary in February, took historic action in March when it elected Rhonda Tobin the first-ever female managing partner. In a recent interview, the veteran litigator said she is proud to head up the Connecticut and New York-based firm, which not only has a rich history, but has recently had “a lot to celebrate in a relatively short amount of time.”

“I think the pandemic did present an unexpected opportunity for us,” said Tobin, who took over March 1 after 10 years on Robinson & Cole’s five-member managing committee. “I think it enabled us to connect across practice groups and office groups to communicate in a different way than we were used to. We pretty quickly pivoted to the new normal, and I think it enabled us to reach across many geographies and open up some opportunities. I think it did help in terms of team-building, for sure.”