Page 13 - 2020 Annual Awards Celebration

2020 OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD WINNERS
Richard Allyn
Robins Kaplan, LLP
Private Practice Lawyer Award
Richard “Dick” Allyn graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1969. While in school, he clerked for the Ramsey County Public Defender as well as the school’s misdemeanor clinic.
He spent a few years in a small general practice where his work included briefing and arguing appeals for the State Public Defender. He then moved on to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office where he spent 12 years. He worked in several practice areas including as head of the Criminal Division. Subsequently, Dick was appointed as the Solicitor General and concluded his work there as the Chief Deputy.
For the last 37 years, Dick has practiced at Robins Kaplan LLP. As a
civil litigator, he devoted most of his time pursuing large insurance disputes. He has always maintained a pro bono presence. He worked on SMRLS matters, 35W Bridge collapse victims, environmental losses, and more. Since 2013, Dick has supervised the law students enrolled
in the Insurance Law Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School. The Clinic’s purpose is to provide pro bono legal help to disadvantaged people caught in unfair denials by insurers and adjusters. Poor people, minority people, and immigrant people all encounter more barriers
to insurance relief when personal disaster strikes. Believed to be the only US law school insurance law clinic, there have been a number of successful results and recoveries. Dick notes that working on this project for the last seven years would not have been possible without Robins Kaplan’s support of pro bono legal assistance.