Robert L. Schug
No Company Is Too Big to Play FairAbout
Robert Schug has nearly two decades of experience litigating complex class actions in federal and state courts around the country. He recently served as co-lead counsel in Bell v. Michigan Civil Service Commission and Carter v. Michigan State Police, two class actions alleging unlawful discrimination against African-American applicants for positions with the Michigan State Police. Mr. Schug successfully argued both cases at the Michigan Court of Appeals. Following the appeals, both cases were resolved on a class-wide basis. Mr. Schug currently serves as co-lead counsel in Day v. GEICO Casualty Co, where he and co-counsel represent a certified class of more than 2.2 million California policyholders challenging unfair auto insurance practices under California state law.
Mr. Schug represents clients on a wide variety of issues, including race, gender, and disability discrimination, unfair and deceptive insurance practices, employee misclassification, unpaid overtime, and unpaid wages.
In addition to the work that he performs for his clients, Mr. Schug serves as vice chair of the board and treasurer of the Impact Fund, a nationally recognized non-profit law firm in Berkeley, California devoted to achieving social justice through large-scale impact litigation. He is also a member of the Impact Fund’s grant advisory committee. Mr. Schug is a frequent speaker and trainer on a wide range of litigation topics, including class actions, discovery tactics and strategies, and electronic discovery. He has been recognized as a Rising Star by Northern California and Minnesota Super Lawyers, and was recently named to Lawdragon’s list of 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers.
Mr. Schug graduated summa cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law and Middle Tennessee State University. He served as Executive Editor of the William Mitchell Law Review. He is licensed in California and Minnesota.
Awards
Education
- J.D., William Mitchell College of Law, summa cum laude
- B.A., Middle Tennessee State University, summa cum laude
Admissions
- United States Supreme Court
- California Supreme Court
- Minnesota Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- United States District Court, Northern District of California
- United States District Court, Eastern District of California
- United States District Court, Central District of California
- United States District Court, Southern District of California
- United States District Court, Colorado
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
- United States District Court, District of Minnesota
- United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
Memberships & Honors
- Named to "Top Lawyers List," Minnesota Monthly 2024
- Named to the Top 100 Trial Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers list, 2022
- Named one of “The Best Lawyers in America”, 2022-2025
- Named to the Rising Stars list, Minnesota Super Lawyers, Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, and Twin Cities Business 2018-2021
- Named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers list, 2020-2024
- Named a “Rising Star” by Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine and San Francisco Magazine, 2012, 2013
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- American Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
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American Bar Association
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Federal Bar Association
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National Employment Lawyers Association
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Lawdragon 2021
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Best Lawyers - Schug
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Super Lawyers - Schug
Presentations & Publications
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Los Angeles, CA, September 2023 (trainer)
- “What is New in the World of Equal Pay Case Law,” ABA FLSL Midwinter Meeting, Mexico, February 2023
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Berkeley, CA, September 2022 (trainer)
- “Recent Developments in ESI Case Law,” NELA Spring Seminar, Chicago, IL, April 2022
- “Litigating Fitness for Duty Cases Under the ADA,” Eighth Circuit NELA, St. Louis, Missouri, October 2022
- “Collecting and Preserving Client ESI,” National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Rights Litigation Conference and Class Action Symposium, December 2021
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Virtual, September 2021 (trainer)
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Virtual, September 2020 (trainer)
- “The ADA Turns 30: How Have Class Actions Fared?” Impact Fund Class Action Conference, San Francisco, CA, February 2020.
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Oakland, CA, September 2019 (trainer)
- “How to Use Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions To Your Advantage,” National Employment Lawyers Association’s 2019 Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, June 2019
- "Consumer Law: Applying a Civil Rights Lens to the World of Consumer Law", Minnesota CLE, January 2019
- “Legal Tools for Addressing Discrimination in Fire Departments: An Overview and Conversation,” 2018 International Associate of Black Firefighters Convention, Atlantic City, NJ, August 2018
- “Legal Tools for Addressing Discrimination in Fire Departments: An Overview and Conversation,” 2018 International Associate of Black Firefighters Convention, Cleveland, Ohio, May 2018
- “Preserving, Collecting & Producing ESI from your Client” and “Making the Most of ESI: Now that you’ve got it, Here’s How You Work With It,” NELA Spring Conference, Vienna, VA, April 2018
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Oakland, CA, September 2017 (trainer)
- “Taking Effective Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions in Wage and Hour Cases,” NELA Litigating Wage and Hour Cases, March 2017
- “The Best Laid Plans: Crafting Effective Trial Plans,” Impact Fund Class Action Conference, Oakland, CA, February 2017 (trainer)
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Oakland, CA, September 2016 (trainer)
- “Latest Developments in Attorneys’ Fees,” Impact Fund Summer Webinar Series, Berkeley, CA, August 2016
- “Taking Rule 30(b)(6) Corporate Depositions: Strategies for Success,” National Employment Lawyers Association 2016 Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA, June 2016
- “Calling Their Bluff: Using Arbitration to Gain the Upper Hand,” Impact Fund Class Action Conference, San Francisco, CA, February 2016 (moderator)
- ACLU of Northern California Deposition Skills Workshop, San Francisco, CA, January 2016
- Disability Rights California Trial Skills Workshop, Sacramento, CA, Fall 2015
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Chicago, IL, October 2015 (organizer and trainer)
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Oakland, CA, September 2015 (organizer and trainer)
- “Spokeo v. Robins: The Case for Keeping Corporate America Accountable,” Impact Fund Practitioner Blog, September 2015
- “Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo – Fighting for the Rights of Low Wage Workers,” Impact Fund Practitioner Blog, September 2015
- “Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez – New Classic or the End of a Trend,” Impact Fund Practitioner Blog, August 2015
- “Mach Mining v. EEOC – What It Means for the Victims of Discrimination,” Casetext Civil Rights Blog, June 2015
- “Preparing for the Plaintiff’s Deposition: Everything You, and Your Client, Need to Know,” Legal Aid Association of California Traveling Training, Fresno and Sacramento, CA, October 2014
- “California Class Action Update,” Impact Fund Summer Webinar Series, Berkeley, CA, August 2014
- “A Beginner’s Guide to Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions,” Impact Fund Summer Webinar Series, Berkeley, CA, July 2014
- Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute, Oakland, CA, June 2014 (organizer and trainer)
- “Taking Rule 30(b)(6) Corporate Depositions: Strategies for Success,” National Employment Lawyers Association 26th Annual Convention, Boston, MA, June 2014
- “A Beginner’s Guide to Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions,” National Employment Lawyers Association 26th Annual Convention, June 2014
- “Ascertainability and Uninjured Class Members as Growing Threats to Class Certification,” Impact Fund Class Action Conference, Oakland, CA, February 2014 (moderator)
- “Shaking the Foundations: Tools for Transformative Justice,” Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA, November 2013
- “Drafting Effective and Admissible Declarations,” Legal Aid Association of California Traveling Training, San Diego, CA, October 2013
- “To Class or Not to Class, That is the Question,” California Employment Lawyers Association, Annual Conference, October 2013
- “Issue Certification Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(4),” California Employment Lawyers Association, Annual Conference, October 2013
- “Certification Under FLSA v. Rule 23,” California Employment Lawyers Association, Annual Conference, October 2013