Gilbert A. Holmes Professor
of Clinical Theory and Practice 
Director, Mediation Clinic for Families
rrubinson@ubalt.edu
410.837.4094
John and Frances Angelos Law Center, AL 420
Administrative Assistant: Stephanie Pinkney Lee
410.837.5705
John and Frances Angelos Law Center, Room 412
Education
J.D., New York University, 1988
B.A., summa cum laude, Columbia University, 1984
Expertise
Professional Ethics
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Critical Legal Theory
Poverty Law
Professor Rubinson’s primary teaching and scholarly interests are in professional ethics, alternative dispute resolution, and critical legal theory. He is the co-author of two books: Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law (6th ed. forthcoming), which is a leading text in Professional Responsibility classes, and Family Mediation: Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). His articles have been anthologized and have appeared in, among other publications, the South Carolina Law Review, the Nevada Law Journal, and the Clinical Law Review.
Rubinson has spoken widely in the media on ethics issues, as well as before national and international groups of academics and practitioners. He served as reporter for the Maryland Court of Appeals Ethics 2002 Committee, which proposed changes to the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, and he has chaired the Maryland State Bar Association’s Section Council on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
Selected Publications
Books and Book Chapters
Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law (co-author) (6th edition forthcoming)
Family Mediation: Theory and Practice (co-author with Jane Murphy) (2nd ed., Lexis/Nexis 2015)
Articles and Essays
Stories of Experience: Economic Inequality in Mediation, 70 S. C. L. Rev. 87 (2018)
Realizing Dispute Resolution: Meeting the Challenges of Legal Realism through Mediation, 18 Nev. L.J. 1 (2017)
Indigency, Secrecy, and Questions of Quality: Minimizing the Risk of “Bad” Mediation in Court-Annexed Programs, 100 Marq. L.Rev. 1353 (2017)
Of Grid and Gatekeepers: The Socioeconomics of Mediation, 17 Cardozo J. of Conflict Resol. 873 (2016)
There Is No Such Thing as Litigation: Access to Justice and the Realities of Adjudication, 18 J. Gen., Race & J. 185 (2015)
The Holmes School of Law: A Proposal to Reform Legal Education through Realism, 35 B. C. J. L. & Soc. Just. 33 (2015).
Professional Identity as Advocacy , 31 Miss. Coll. L. Rev. 7 (2012)
Pro Bono Mediation Project: Providing Free Representation to Self-Represented Litigants in Child Access Cases, in INNOVATIONS FOR SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS (Bonnie Hough and Pamela Ortiz, eds.) (2011)
Mapping the World: Facts and Meaning in Adjudication and Mediation, 63 Me. L. Rev. 62 (2010)
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Serving the Non-Legal Needs of Clients: Professional Regulation in a Time of Change, The Professional Lawyer (2008)
The Ethical and Legal Basis for Student Practice in Clinical Education in the United States and Japan: A Comparative Analysis, 4 Omiya Law Review 97 (2008) (Japanese Law Review)
A Theory of Access to Justice, 29 J. Legal Prof. 89 (2005).
Domestic Violence and Mediation: Responding to the Challenges of Crafting Effective Screens, 39 Fam. L. Q. 53 (2005) (with Jane C. Murphy)
Client Counseling, Mediation, and Alternative Narratives of Dispute Resolution, 10 Clin. L. Rev. 833 (2004)
Attorney Fact-Finding, Ethical Decision-Making and the Methodology of Law , 45 St. Louis Univ. L.J. 1185 (2001)
Constructions of Client Competence and Theories of Practice, 31 Ariz. St. L.J. 121 (1999)
The Polyphonic Courtroom: Expanding the Possibilities of Judicial Discourse, 101 Dick. L. Rev. 3 (1996)