To hear Jim Robie laugh was to understand instantly what life was all about. His laughter carried appreciation, wisdom, irony and compassion. This laughter, accompanied always with a twinkle in his eye, told you about the joy in the man. James Raymond Robie was born on December 10, 1949, in Los Angeles. After graduating from Bishop Amat High School and Claremont McKenna College, he earned his J.D. in 1975 at Loyola of Los Angeles Law School, where he later served on the board of directors. Jim was wed to Edith Matthai in 1982, beginning a marriage in which Jim would cheerfully confess an ongoing ‘crush’ on his wife. They had two children, daughter Leigh and son Raymond, and Jim never let the demands of his successful career get between him and his family. They spent many evenings together in the Dodger Dugout Club, from which Jim’s voice could sometimes be heard in the background of televised games. They traveled together to Europe, Africa, China and the Gal’pagos Islands, and Jim brought to these adventures the same passion and enthusiasm that he brought to his work and to his everyday life. The home that the family shared in Pacific Palisades was a haven of warmth, humor and hospitality. No one ever came away from an evening there without a fine meal, a good laugh, and a sense of friendship and belonging. In 1987, Jim and Edith founded the Robie & Matthai law firm, where Jim pursued his specialty of insurance law and rose to national prominence. The ‘go-to guy’ for several major insurance companies, he was lead counsel in complex litigation involving catastrophic losses: earthquake coverage, the California wildfires, Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. He tried many cases involving complex technical and scientific issues and handled numerous cases on the appellate level in the California courts and the Eighth and Ninth Circuits. In addition to his success in the courtroom, Jim helped clients who turned to him for his sage advice on how to best run their businesses and avoid lawsuits. As a masterful trial lawyer who earned a reputation for winning ‘unwinnable’ cases, Jim was dubbed ‘the happy warrior’ by his colleagues for his ever-positive attitude, his humor, his fierce intellect and his passion. Jim was a fearless advocate, not daunted by pressure, insurmountable odds or authority. He simply believed what he believed and knew what he knew. This confidence and incisive strength made him a formidable opponent: When a sitting state’s attorney general participated in an effort to extort money from a client, Jim’s cross- examination of this’public official caused an immediate settlement that vindicated his client and put a swift end to the attempted extortion. The transcript is now used to teach the art of cross-examination. Jim sometimes referred to his firm as the ‘parachute division of the insurance defense bar’ for being dropped into difficult cases at the last moment, a challenge in which he reveled. He enjoyed taking the most complicated issues and making them understandable and persuasive for both judges and jurors. In Jim’s most recent case, a juror commented, ‘The defense was just phenomenal. I’ve only seen those kinds of attorneys on TV’he was great. He blew me away. I’m keeping his card.’ Jim was a ferocious advocate for equal rights and opportunities, a stance that he and Edith put into action with their hiring practices, as well as their political and philanthropic activities. He also gave back to his profession, serving as the outgoing president of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and the outgoing chairperson of the Litigation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. As comfortable in a pair of jeans as he was on a corporate jet, Jim was an accomplished landscaper, and loved to do work around his house. He was famous for conducting teleconferences with high-level executives while simultaneously making esoteric household purchases on the Internet. He often conducted impromptu walking tours of downtown Los Angeles, describing architectural and design features in great detail. Jim had a gift for friendship, and his laughter lit up not only the hallways of his law firm, but the hearts of his many friends, who loved him for his kindness, loyalty and intelligence. Jim was like a perfect California day’sunny, bright, warm and full of possibilities and life. Jim Robie, 61, died on January 16 on Catalina Island. In addition to his wife, Edith, he is survived by his daughter, Leigh Robie; his son, Raymond Robie; his sisters, Kathy Snider and Theresa Bruns; and his brother, Chuck Robie. A celebration of Jim’s life was held on January 30 at the Bel-Air Bay Club. His family and law firm request that donations in his memory be given to the Public Counsel Law Center, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, or Heart of Los Angeles.
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