Robyn B. Gigl

Overview

Robyn has been practicing law for more than 45 years and is admitted to practice before the state and federal courts of New Jersey and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Her practice involves handling complex litigation including employment law, civil rights, and commercial and business litigation. She routinely advises corporations on all aspects of their employment practices. Her employment litigation experience includes the representation of employers and employees on a myriad of issues including employment discrimination, wrongful termination, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, diversity training, the development of employment policies, and the internal investigations of employment complaints. She has also defended financial institutions in connection with class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Uniform Commercial Code. She has tried cases in both state and federal courts and was one of the defense attorneys in a 21-month federal trial – the longest criminal trial in the state’s history – in which all the defendants were acquitted.

Robyn served on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement from 2015 to 2025 and is currently on the Court’s Committee on Wellness in Law. In 2024, she was appointed by Governor Murphy to be a Commissioner on the New Jersey Advisory Commission on Advancing LGBTQIA+ Youth Equity & Inclusion in Schools. In 2019, she was appointed by the Governor and Legislature to the New Jersey Transgender Equality Task Force. She served for four years as the Vice Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee, and from 2020-2022 on the Bar Association’s Committee on Racial Equality in the Law. She is a member of the Bar Association’s Women in the Profession Section and a Past Chair of the Bar’s LGBT Rights Section.

Robyn lectures frequently on diversity issues, and in particular on LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace and schools. She has been interviewed on NPR and spoken to, amongst others, the New Jersey Judicial College, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of NJ, the NJ Office of the Attorney General, the NJ Office of the Public Defender, the NJ Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Alaska Bar Associate, the Missouri Bar Association, the Bar of the City of New York, the University of Virginia School of Law, Rutgers Law School, Seton Hall School of Law, Rutgers University, and has done diversity training for numerous private employers and organizations.

Robyn is the Co-author of the Chapter “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” published in Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in the Workplace (BNA -2014). She is the author of numerous articles including, A Journey on a Road Less Traveled – GPSOLO (ABA) – July/August 2017 Issue; Observations From Both Sides of the Glass Ceiling – May 2017 issue of the New Jersey State Bar Association Diversity Committee’s Newsletter; Gender Identity and School Law – The School Leader – November/December 2015 Issue; Ruminations From a Road Less Traveled – May 2015 issue of the New Jersey State Bar Association Diversity Committee’s newsletter; and The Attempt to Transform Religious Freedom into the Right to Discriminate: Hobby Lobby and Beyond – May 2015 issue of the New Jersey State Bar Association Diversity Committee’s newsletter.

In addition to her work as an attorney, Robyn is the author of four published novels. Her novel, SURVIVOR’S GUILT, was named by TIME Magazine as one of the top 100 mystery and thriller books of All Time. Her first novel, BY WAY OF SORROW, was named one of the best crime novels of 2021 by CrimeReads. In addition to being selected by TIME, SURVIVOR’S GUILT was named as one of the best crime novels of 2022 by the New York Times and won the Joseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ+ Crime Writing. Robyn’s third novel, REMAIN SILENT, was published in May 2023 and was also nominated for the Joseph Hansen Award. Her novel, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, was published in June 2024 and was selected by the New York Times as one of the best crime novels of 2024. Her forthcoming novel, ALL WE HIDE, will be published in August 2026.

Robyn is AV Preeminent™ Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been selected as a New Jersey Super Lawyer. In 2023, she was selected as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New Jersey and was selected as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in New Jersey in 2020, 2021, and 2023. She has been honored by the NJ Women Lawyers Association, the ACLU-NJ, and the NJ Pride Network for her advocacy work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.

Robyn is a graduate of Stonehill College and Villanova University School of Law, where she was a Member of the Villanova Law Review.