Robert E. Kinney, Esq., is President of Kinney Recruiting. Robert is an alumnus of Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Texas School of Law. As an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, Robert studied International Relations and German and was a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity and the Owl Society. Robert spent a year studying abroad at Ludwig Maximillians Universität in Munich prior to law school, and later interned at a law firm in Duisburg, Germany. At the University of Texas School of Law, Robert’s most valuable experience was working closely in Edinburgh, Scotland with noted University of Texas professor Hans W. Baade on the Piper Alpha Disaster litigation, a major litigation matter involving Scottish and Texas law issues that became the longest running trial in Scottish history.

Before becoming a recruiter, Robert worked for several of the nation’s most respected law firms. As an associate in the Business and Technology practice group at Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison LLP in Austin, Robert represented numerous technology companies in debt and equity financings, as well as mergers and acquisitions and executive compensation matters. Prior to that, Robert was an associate in the Corporate and Securities practice group at the firm now known as Bracewell LLP in Houston, where he worked on corporate roll-up transactions, MLP IPO’s, and corporate governance projects.. Prior to his incarnation as a corporate lawyer, Robert spent two years as an admiralty litigator with the boutique admiralty litigation firm in Houston known as Royston, Rayzor, Vickery and Williams, LLP, one of the oldest such firms in the country, and certainly one of the oldest in Texas, where he had a number of unusual legal experiences involving salt water, broken ships, rusty metal, and – unfortunately – sick and injured sailors. During that time, he took 30 or more depositions, including one of a sailor who had allowed his ship to drag anchor during an overnight watch, and argued a variety of dispositive motions in federal court.

While practicing law was fun, Robert’s true passion is helping people improve their careers and build their teams to work better. When his final law firm, Brobeck, began to collapse in 2001, Robert was in the delivery room with his wife, Michelle, and their newborn son when the partners called to announce the news of layoffs. So, he understands what it’s like to need a job. Since that fateful call, Kinney’s recruiters have placed more than 1,500 lawyers in Texas and the major financial centers of the world.

In Asia, Robert grew a single in-house role at a private equity firm into a Hong Kong office that as of 2018 has placed almost 240 attorneys around Asia. In Germany, where he continues to maintain many personal ties, the chance to work with smart, capable and diligent partners in the Frankfurt office of Kinney Recruiting GmbH has been another great source of pride and joy.  Kinney is now the largest US-based recruiting firm in Germany, and we are continuing to grow.  Robert is a member of the Texas State Bar, the Texas Bar Foundation, the New York State Bar (as of December 6, 2018) and various local bar associations throughout Texas and the USA.  He and Michelle have two almost-grown-up children. Although he does not get to fly much any more, Robert is a private pilot with an instrument rating and approximately 500 hours of experience in a variety of small aircraft.