McCarter & English on Wednesday said the Hon. Eduardo Robreno, a former U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has joined the firm as a partner. Robreno will be based in Philadelphia, but will also spend a significant amount of time working from Miami.
Robreno is the first Cuban American to sit on any federal court and the first Latino on the federal bench in Pennsylvania.
As a senior member of the firm’s Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, which includes Jose Linares, the former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Jaynee LaVecchia, a former New Jersey Supreme Court justice, and Joseph Braunreuther, the former deputy general counsel of Johnson & Johnson, Robreno will provide ADR services through arbitration, mediation, special masterships, corporate investigations and other court-appointed neutral services.
“McCarter & English is thrilled Judge Robreno has joined the firm as we expand our ADR practice to meet the increasing need for these services, especially in South Florida,” Linares, chair of McCarter’s ADR practice, said. “Multidistrict litigation represents the fastest-growing caseload on the federal docket, and Judge Robreno’s masterful experience in MDL as well as class actions and other complex multiparty litigation will enhance our ability to provide services in this vital area.”
During his tenure on the bench, Robreno presided over more than 100 civil and criminal jury trials, authoring more than 3,000 opinions. Robreno is renowned for his successful management of In Re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation, involving approximately 180,000 cases and more than 10 million claims from every jurisdiction in the country.
During his judicial career, Robreno presided over a wide range of consequential and high-profile cases, many of which captured the attention of the nation, including Andrea Constand’s civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby.
“As I transition from my judicial career, I am really looking forward to returning to private practice with McCarter & English, working in ADR alongside exceptional former jurists whom I hold in the highest regard: Jaynee LaVecchia and Jose Linares, whom I have known professionally for over 20 years,” Robreno said. “My new role at McCarter allows me to apply my decades of experience to commercial dispute resolution and to continue to divide my time between Pennsylvania and Florida, where I have deeply established cultural and professional roots.”
Prior to his judicial service, Robreno was a partner at a Philadelphia law firm. He also served as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and as a special assistant United States attorney.
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Westfield State University and a master’s degree in labor studies from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Robreno moved to the Philadelphia metro area to earn his J.D. from Rutgers Law School. At Rutgers, he served as articles editor of the law review.
