Feb 24, 2021
If you called central casting and asked for someone to play a lawyer, you’d probably get someone who looks a lot like Herman Robinson. Tall, with a dignified posture and deep voice, Robinson was perfect for the part of the first black General Counsel at the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).
But before serving in that capacity, before he was even employed by LDEQ, Robinson was an Army officer. He had been in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at Southern University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in history. Entering the Army in 1972, Robinson served in various leadership capacities for seven years. He was in the ordinance corps, serving as both a platoon leader and company commander. His military service included a 13 month-stint in Korea and a lot of time at what he fondly calls “Camp Swampy” – Fort Stewart in Savannah, Ga.
“My next assignment would have been in Germany,” Robinson recalls. “I decided to go ahead and get out and go to law school,” he said. “After sleeping in a tent in the middle of nowhere for two weeks during a training operation at Fort Bragg, N.C., it seemed to me that a nice, clean, air-conditioned courtroom or law office would be a good workplace to aspire to. So, I decided to go to law school.”
“I sometimes regret I didn’t stay in. I enjoyed being in the service. It was a great experience.”
His decision was made, though, and he was honorably discharged from the Army with the rank of captain. He returned to Louisiana to pursue a Juris Doctorate from Southern. In 1982, Robinson began a legal career at LDEQ that would span 35 years.
During his tenure at the LDEQ, Robinson held the positions of Staff Attorney, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), ALJ Administrator, Assistant Secretary, and, most recently, General Counsel.
“I started off as attorney/hearing officer. They formed a hearing section. I led that (section). I became an administrative law judge for a while,” Robinson said. “I became assistant secretary for legal affairs and enforcement under Pat Norton. Then the department was reorganized and restructured. All the legal activities were put under the office of the secretary. Dale Givens appointed me as general counsel,” Robinson said. “I was named executive council under Mike McDaniels.”
“I served under all LDEQ secretaries but one – the very first one.”
Despite having been the first black general counsel, Robinson said he did not feel he faced any particular career challenges because of his race. “Not anything that would stand out. The job itself is challenging. As far as being the first minority in the position, nothing that stands out.”
“I saw a lot of changes while I was there. A lot of offices were added. Some offices were removed, then added back. It grew. Then was cut again to current size,” he said. “I saw a lot of change. Met a lot of people – a lot of good people.”
Robinson returned to the General Counsel position in 2015 prior to leaving the agency and returning to his native Pointe Coupee Parish. He was one of eight children of a farmer who sharecropped in the northern end of the parish. Robinson went to high school at Old Bachelor High School. Of the eight children in his family, he is the only one to return to the area of Pointe Coupee Parish and remain in Louisiana. The rest relocated to Texas.
After a busy life filled with jobs and duties, Robinson is ready to enjoy some time for himself. He’s pursuing some hobbies and “taking care of things I have been putting off.”