PITTSBURGH – Robyn A. Shelton is the newest associate attorney to join Cohen & Grigsby PC in its Pittsburgh office.
"Robyn grew up in Pittsburgh and is thrilled to be back in her hometown," Barbara Scheib, head of the litigation group at Cohen & Grigsby, told the Pennsylvania Record.
"Robyn will be assisting with the gamut of Cohen & Grigsby's litigation practice, which includes most types of commercial litigation, including various disputes between competitors such as unfair competition, trade secret misappropriation, non-compete covenants and false advertising, shareholder and sale of business disputes, insurance recovery, banking and financial service issues, appellate practice, land use controversies, as well as wills, trusts and estate litigation."
Shelton graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida College of Law in 2012, and is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, Florida and West Virginia.
"Robyn has a strong background in litigation starting with her federal clerkship in Florida, where she was exposed to a broad range of cases including class actions, antitrust lawsuits, intellectual property disputes, employment discrimination claims and contract disputes in diversity cases," Scheib said.
"Before joining Cohen & Grigsby, Robyn worked in Pittsburgh at a fast-paced insurance defense firm, and was deeply involved in discovery, motion practice and trial strategy."
Shelton earned a master's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1992, and bachelor's in Biology & Journalism/Science Writing from Lehigh University in 1991.
Before her legal career, Shelton was a newspaper reporter with positions including medical writer for the Orlando Sentinel and senior aerospace reporter for Florida Today.
"As a former newspaper journalist, Robyn spent years in demanding work environments and is accustomed to the deadlines and attention to detail that are required as a lawyer," Scheib said.
"In particular, her work as a science reporter is useful in that lawyers often need to break down complicated matters into discrete issues. Robyn wrote about medicine and highly technical topics such as space shuttle systems, rocket engines and interplanetary robots.
"She is very comfortable translating the complex into understandable information. There's a lot about journalism that complements legal work, whether it's interviewing people, analyzing and synthesizing information from multiple sources and writing effectively. Robyn's background in journalism is extremely helpful in that regard."
Cohen & Grigsby also added attorney Eric S. Olson to its Naples, Fla., office. A graduate of the University of Miami School of Law and Washington & Lee University, Olson focuses his practice on all aspects of civil litigation.