University of Michigan-Flint Alumna Appointed to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Marietta S. Robinson, a 1973 UM-Flint graduate, has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

President Barack Obama nominated Robinson on January 24, 2013, she was confirmed by the Senate on June 27, 2013, and was officially sworn in on July 2, 2013 to a term that expires in October 2017.

"I am deeply honored and very excited about working with the other commissioners and the very talented CPSC staff to continue the important work of this agency. I think my background will help me make a significant contribution," said Commissioner Robinson in a CPSC press release.

Robinson practiced as a trial attorney for 35 years, handling a wide variety of complex litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants. She is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and served as its first female president from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, Robinson served as independent legal counsel to the Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in Liberia. She served from 1989 to 1997 as a federally-appointed trustee of the Dalkon Shield Trust, which disbursed more than $2.4 billion to more than 300,000 claimants harmed by the Dalkon Shield birth control device. She has taught as an adjunct professor at several law schools over the years, most recently at the Duke School of Law.

She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and Michigan Bar, and in 2000 was the Democratic nominee for the Michigan Supreme Court. In 2009, Ms. Robinson was an appointed member of the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Eastern District of Michigan, and from 1985 to 1989 she served on the Michigan State Building Authority. She also served as a member of the Michigan State Bar Representative Assembly.

Ms. Robinson graduated with High Distinction from the University of Michigan-Flint with a B.A. in Psychology. She earned her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.