Experienced Corporate Attorney and Former Public Company Chief Legal Officer Joins Vorys as Of Counsel
Vorys announced today that Ronald "Rocky" A. Robins, Jr., a corporate attorney with more than three decades of experience as both external and in-house legal counsel, including more than 15 years as a public company chief legal officer, has re-joined the firm in the Columbus office. Robins, who joins Vorys as of counsel, brings a wealth of experience advising executives and boards of directors on corporate governance, crisis management, litigation, M&A, venture capital, debt and equity financings, compliance, restructuring and international expansion.
"Acting as a trusted business and legal counselor, whether in-house or outside, has been the part of my career that I have enjoyed the most and where I think I have provided the most added value, so I really look forward to being back at Vorys to help businesses navigate their most important legal and business needs," said Robins. "I am excited to work with the talented Vorys team to deliver exceptional counsel to our clients, both new and old."
Robins most recently served as acting general counsel at Ionic Digital, a leader in powered land development and data center development that completed a direct listing on Nasdaq in 2026. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president, chief legal and governance officer, general counsel and corporate secretary for Big Lots, Inc. for more than a decade, and as senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and secretary for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. In these roles, Robins was a key member of the executive leadership teams, overseeing a wide range of high-stakes legal matters and providing counsel to senior executives and public company boards.
Robins has extensive experience leading in-house crisis management teams through complex and high-pressure situations, including a Chapter 11 restructuring, CEO medical crisis and succession planning, the COVID-19 pandemic, social media challenges and defense efforts against activist campaigns. He has also overseen multiple M&A and securities transactions, including private equity transactions, public company acquisitions and public and private debt and equity financings.
Earlier in his career, Robins was a corporate partner at Vorys, where he was recognized as one of the leading corporate lawyers in Ohio. Before joining Vorys, he served as a clerk for The Honorable Milton Pollack of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and worked as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City.
"We are thrilled to welcome Rocky back to Vorys," said Adam Brandt, chair of the Vorys corporate group. "His extensive in-house experience, and in particular his proven ability to lead organizations through crises and high-stakes situations, makes him a great resource for our clients and our team."
In addition, Robins currently serves as an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he teaches a course on public company corporate governance. He is licensed to practice in Ohio and New York.
Robins received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his B.A., summa cum laude, with honors from Duke University.
About Vorys: Vorys was established in 1909 and currently has nearly 375 attorneys in 10 offices in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Texas, Pennsylvania, California, London, and Berlin. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine.
