Biography
Robyn Ice, J.D., M.F.A., is a Senior Professor of Practice and Director of the General Legal Studies and Business & Leadership Programs at Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement, where she also serves as Faculty Chair of the SoPA Undergraduate Honor Board and as a member of SoPA’s Academic Performance Committee, the Tulane University Senate, the Committee on Committees, and President’s Faculty Advisory Committee. She also assisted in the development of the New Orleans Paralegal Association’s Mentoring Program to assist paralegal students at Tulane and other programs in the area. Ms. Ice currently chairs the Approval Commission for the ABA’s Standing Committee on Paralegals and has been an active participant and regular presenter at AAfPE conferences. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgia State University College of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgia State University Law Review and authored two chapters of the treatise Georgia Tort Law by Professor David Maleski. Before joining Tulane in 2014, Ms. Ice practiced environmental and toxic tort law for over 20 years, in Atlanta and New York City. While representing corporate clients in matters involving airborne toxins, she wrote and spoke on a variety of related topics and developed continuing legal education and litigation skills training programs. At Alston & Bird, LLC, she was the first recipient of the Alston Award for exemplary pro bono legal services, which she received simultaneously with her grant of partnership, later serving as pro bono partner for the firm’s New York City office. Before entering law school, Ms. Ice performed as a puppeteer and designed costumes and puppets for theatre and television for over a decade.
Statement
When I joined Tulane in May 2014, my first task was to prepare our program’s reapproval application, which was due three months later. That harrowing experience, followed by our disastrous site visit in 2016, confirmed that I understood little about the Guidelines and the ABA Approval process. About a year after correcting the several potential compliance issues disclosed in the site visit and receiving our notice of reapproval, I was invited to join the Approval Commission. I jumped at the opportunity to become involved in the process for securing the approval that adds such value to our educational programs. The knowledge I have acquired through reviewing and visiting other programs not only has improved the program here at Tulane but also has allowed me to work closely and develop friendships with others around the country who share my commitment to quality legal education.