Robin R. Cockey
Partner

Areas of Practice

• Civil Litigation
• Employment/Labor Law
• Municipal Law
• Zoning Law
• Planning and Land Use
• Government

Bar Admissions

• Maryland, 1980
• U.S. District Court District of Maryland, 1983
• U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1999
• U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit, 2006

Education

• The College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, Virginia
  J.D. - 1980
  Honors: Phi Beta Kappa; Order of Barristers
• Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
  B.A. magna cum laude - 1977

Published Works

• "The Family and Medical Leave Act at Work: Getting Employees to Value Families" (Co-Author), 4 Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law 225, 1996
• "For Employers, the Paper Trail Starts with a Written Personnel Policy", 12 The Law Clerk 2, 1997
• "Can't Buy Me Leave: Looking for Effective FMLA Remedies", Maryland Trial Lawyers Association Reporter, 2007
• "Crossing Jordan: How A Bartending Crisis Revolutionized the Law of Workplace Harassment," 17 University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class. Fall 2017

Representative Cases

• Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene v. Phoebus, 319 Md. 710 (1990)
• Zazanis v. Gold Coast Mall, Inc., 63 Md. App. 364 (1985)
• Knussman v. State of Maryland, 935 F. Supp. 659 (D Md) (1996)
• Knussman v. State of Maryland, 16 F. Supp. 2d 601 (D Md) (1998)
• Knussman v. State of Maryland, 65 F. Supp. 2d. 353 (D Md) (1999)
• Smack v. Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 134 Md. App. 412 (2000)
• Smack v. Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 378 Md 298, 835 A.2d 1175 (2003)
• Andy's Ice Cream, Inc. v. City of Salisbury, 125 Md, App. 125, 724 A.2d 717 (1999)
• Knussman v. State of Maryland, 272 F. 3d 625, C.A. 4 (Md.) (2001)
• Montgomery v. State of Maryland, 266 F.3d 334, C.A.4 (Md.) (2001)
• Montgomery v. State of Maryland, 377 Md. 615, 835 A.2d 1224 (2003)
• Montgomery v. State of Maryland, 374 Md. 358, 822 A.2d 1224 (2003)
• Walker v. City of Salisbury, 170 F Supp 2d 541 (D. Md) (2001)
• Ford v. Dept. of Corrections, 149 Md. App. 488 (2001)
• Marsha A. Lewis v. Board of Education of Talbot County, et al., 262 F. Supp. 2d 608, 177 Ed. Law Rep. 1069 (D.Md.) (2003)
• Purnell v. State of Maryland, 330 F. Supp. 2d 551 (D.Md.) (2004)
• Heller v. State of Maryland, 391 Md 148 (2005)
• Heller v. DNR, 161 Md App. 299 (2005)
• Dorothy Houlihan v. Sussex Technical School District, et al, 2006 WL 3349534, 461 F. Supp 2d. 252 (2006)
• Boyer-Liberto v. Fontainebleu Corp., 786 F3d 264 (4th Cir 2015) (en banc)

Representative Clients

• City of Crisfield (1992-Present)
• Somerset County Sanitary District Commission (2005-Present)
• Wor-Wic Community College (1984-2006)
• Wicomico County Housing Authority (1994-Present)
• The McCready Foundation (Hospital) (2013 -- Present)
• Eastern Shore Regional Library (2012 -- Present)

Classes/Seminars

• Employment Rights for Cancer Survivors, Wellness Community of Dermania, 2009 - Present
• First Amendment Issues: Scope of an Employee's Right to Speak, MICPEL
• Americans with Disabilities Act CADA for Employers and Tax Incentives, Salisbury University Center for Professional Development / Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, 2001 - Present

Honors and Awards

• Bouton Visiting Legal Scholar, Princeton University 1988, 1991
• Maryland ACLU Pro Bono Attorney Award, 1999 - Present
• The Daily Record Leadership in Law Award, 2004 - Present
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Fellow, Maryland Bar Foundation

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Wor-Wic Foundation, Member, Board of Trustees, 1986 - 1990
• Wor-Wic Foundation, Chairman, 1987 - 1990
• Salisbury City Council, Member, 1986 - 1994
• Salisbury City Council, President, 1988 - 1994
• Wicomico County Parks and Recreation Commission, Member, 1987 - 1988
• Wicomico County Airport Commission, Member, 1989 - 1992
• City of Salisbury Housing Task Force, Chairman, 1987
• City of Salisbury Traffic Advisory Committee, Chairman, 1994 - Present
• Wicomico County, Member
• Wicomico County, Treasurer, 1985 - 1987
• City of Salisbury Landlord Licensing Committee, Member, 2003 - Present
• Maryland Employment Lawyers Association, Member/Vice President, 2009 -- 2014; President, 2014-2018

Pro Bono Activities

• Lower Shore Performing Arts Company
• Maryland Employment Lawyers Association

Fraternities/Sororities

• Phi Beta Kappa
• Order of Barristers