NLD Member Spotlight: Robert Theiring

Civil litigator Robert L. Theiring has never been afraid to try something new: “That’s one of the things my father taught me about life. The day you stop learning is the day you die.”

The litigator at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP’s San Diego office has carried his father’s philosophy around the globe through several successful careers, and has no plans to stop. His litigation practice ranges from consumer product liability defense and employment matters to real estate, landlord-tenant, and Proposition 65 cases.

“As a fourth-year attorney, I’m still green and continually learning, he said. “I always felt that during the first couple years of my practice, I really wanted to diversify my practice and sample the buffet as it were.”

Theiring may refer to himself as “green,” but his resume might make some green with envy.

After a successful career in sales and marketing, Theiring enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an Operations Specialist operating radar systems, conducting tactical planning, and assisting in supervision of the Combat Information Center.

“For a very long time I wanted to be a lawyer, specifically, I wanted to be a Navy JAG,” he said. “So, I thought what better way to learn the Navy, and receive the G.I. Bill to have my education all paid for, than to join. So, I enlisted at the ripe age of 30.”

While assigned to the guided-missile cruiser U.S.S. Chancellorsville (CG-62), Theiring was part of the first responder team during Operation Tomodachi, which was the humanitarian relief effort during the devastation in Japan following the Fukishima Nuclear Disaster in 2011. While on board USS Chancellorsville, Theiring was the Secret Control Custodian responsible for the coordination and organization of more than 1,000 secret Naval publications. He received several medals, including the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, for his efforts during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise coordinating more than 12 underway warships.

Although the Navy brought Theiring unique and memorable experiences, he decided after five years it was time to learn something new.

“I enjoyed it, definitely some tough times,” he said. “But, I did the math and realized it was more worth it to pursue my education full time and not re-enlist.” So, Theiring was honorably discharged from the Navy, finished his bachelor’s degree in political science with a global concentration at Cal State San Marcos, and enrolled at California Western School of Law in 2015.

At Cal Western, Theiring served as associate editor of the International Law Journal, Trial Team coordinator on the Moot Court executive board, and ADR competitor. The ’90s music fan also pays homage to “The Policy of Truth” as a nod to Depeche Mode in the title of his comparative law article on Rwanda and Cambodia, published in Cal Western’s International Law Journal.

Also while at Cal Western, Theiring had not one, not two, but three federal judicial externships at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California: magistrate judge Karen S. Crawford, magistrate judge Berard G. Skomal, and district judge Anthony J. Battaglia.

“I had three of them because I wanted to learn from different judges and explore how each of them analyze the law, and what different roles a magistrate and district judge play,” he said. “These externships were invaluable, and I would recommend to any law student to do at least one. It will make you a better legal writer, and it helps you to understand what judges are looking for and how they evaluate things. Especially if your practice is going to be in federal court, it’s almost a prerequisite to have one.”

While Theiring has yet to have an intern of his own, he’s looking forward to having one in the future.

“I always believe in paying it forward,” he said. “Whether it be the Navy, or law, or life, none of us are where we are today on our own — we are always taught by mentors and teachers. I always refer to the close set of mentors that I have as my Jedi Council, that core group of people that I can go to and ask for advice. I’m always trying to add on to that because, whether you’re a first year or twentieth year attorney, you can never stop learning.”

Theiring continued to take his father’s advice to never stop learning and after law school enrolled in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Master of Laws program at USC Gould School of Law. His passion for ADR was inculcated at Cal Western as an ADR team competitor and as a volunteer mediator for the San Diego Small Claims Court in his 3L year. Impressed by these credentials, USC sent Theiring numerous emails encouraging him to apply to their LLM program, even offering him their President’s scholarship.

“I really truly believe, for younger attorneys, there’s so much emphasis in law school put on Trial Team, and while those are great skills to have, you’re going to see the inside of the mediation room significantly more as a litigator than you are a courtroom,” Theiring said. “The numbers don’t lie: 98% of cases settle. So, I think it’s better for younger attorneys than anybody to learn those skills early and continually develop them to become a better attorney — that’s going to pay so many more dividends.”

Theiring would like to run a mediation practice in his later years, once he’s a little less green, but first he wants more trials under his belt with the goal of ultimately focusing his practice on employment law.

“We all have relatives, friends, maybe kids, everyone’s in a job, everybody works,” he said. “I really want to protect those companies and those people who are in those jobs from being harassed or dealing with bias or discrimination. I feel like my contribution can help create a better culture for friends and families and clients and make the workplace better. I just feel like from a practical and from a personal side, that checks all the boxes for me.”