In the News
This is what a passion for justice looks like.
October 27, 2025
Robin Wagner Highlights Legal Professionals’ Role in Protecting LGBTQIA+ Clients
In an article in the Michigan Bar Journal, lawyer Robin Wagner urges attorneys to foster inclusivity and sensitivity toward LGBTQIA+ clients amid a wave of new federal policies targeting transgender and queer individuals. In the piece, Words Matter: Creating and Maintaining a Welcoming Environment for LGBTQIA+ Clients, Robin outlines practical steps attorneys can take to create safe, affirming spaces—from using inclusive language in conversation and in official forms, to including pronouns in Zoom titles and email signatures, to being empathetic and cognizant of any trauma an individual may have experienced tied to their identity.
“By creating an environment where every client and colleague feels safe, heard, and respected, we create a safe harbor for vulnerable LGBTQIA+ individuals amidst a rising tide of discrimination,” Robin wrote.
Robin’s message is both a call to action and a reminder of the legal community’s role in upholding dignity and equality in these times of uncertainty.
August 12, 2025
Robin Wagner Named One of Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Women of Law
Robin Wagner was selected as one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Women of Law. This awards program honors women attorneys and judges in Michigan for their work on behalf of the justice system, their clients, and their commitment to their communities and profession.
Robin is an accomplished scholar and attorney who has dedicated her career to improving the world around her. In 2024, Robin achieved a $13 million settlement for a class action lawsuit against the State of Michigan's Hawthorn Center for facilitating an active shooter drill without informing staff and patients that it was a drill.
Additionally, she is a crucial player on the Right-to-Hug litigation team, a campaign advocating on behalf of inmates who have been barred from visiting their loved ones in person, as well as filing cases on behalf of victims of company EasyKnock's sale and lease-back scheme. Robin would like to thank her PMPBR team, as well as her trusty sidekick Casper, for all their support.
August 8, 2025
Robin Wagner Listed on The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
October 15, 2024
State of Michigan to pay psychiatric center patients, employees $13M after terrifying active shooter drill
Robin Wagner served as Lead Counsel in a high-profile case against the State of Michigan, resulting in $13 Million in compensation for patients and employees of the State-Run Hawthorn Center pediatric psychiatric hospital, after the hospital administration traumatized them by holding a realistic “active shooter” drill that hospitalized children and adults. The suit responded to the trauma and resulting post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted in many of the Hawthorn employees calling their loved ones and saying goodbye, believing they were under attack.
“The ruling represents, to the credit of the state, an acknowledgement, that their patients and employees were deeply harmed. It’s a meaningful amount of compensation and that will create change because it has to. The next time anyone thinks of performing a safety drill, they’re going to think before they act. This is the lesson and the moral of the story. We believe that meaningful change will come and that is what justice looks like.” —Robin Wagner
Read more on NBC News, CBS News, and the Detroit News
June 27, 2024
Homeowners File Lawsuit Against EasyKnock Inc. Alleging Predatory Mortgage Scheme
Attorney Robin Wagner and Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers partner Kevin Carlson represented homeowners, including Randee Myree and Adam Noggle, in a lawsuit against EasyKnock Inc. and others aiming to reclaim their home title and seek damages for deceptive business practices. This case highlighted a troubling trend affecting financially distressed homeowners across the Detroit metro area and the country.
The company EasyKnock, since dissolved, promoted a "Sell & Stay" program, which ostensibly offered homeowners a chance to unlock home equity without credit checks but was in reality a predatory scheme that led to losing their homes.
The Noggles, who purchased their home in Taylor, Michigan, turned to EasyKnock during a financial crisis exacerbated by health issues and reduced work hours. Instead of aid, they found themselves entrapped in a cycle of escalating rents and unaffordable fees, falling thousands behind on payments.
According to the complaint, EasyKnock's practices violated several state and federal laws, including the Michigan usury laws, the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other states’ leadersl took steps that ended EasyKnock’s operations.
Robin, as part of the PMPBR legal team, helped these homeowners in their pursuit of justice and will continue to fight for stronger protections against such predatory tactics.
Read more at the Detroit Free Press and NPR.
January 2022
Excerpt from R. Wagner article in Michigan Bar Journal
Beyond Redlining: The Current State of Housing Discrimination
“We treat everyone equally because we are required to do so by the Fair Housing Act, so we did nothing wrong.”
I hear this from property managers and leasing agents defending conduct that has resulted in lawsuits and administrative actions alleging housing discrimination. This simplistic formulation most likely came from fair housing training the individual received through their employment in residential real estate management, but the takeaway — treat everyone the same — is woefully incorrect and can lead to liability, fair-minded as it sounds.
The Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 USC 3601 et seq., is arguably the most powerful and far reaching of the federal civil rights statutes passed in the 1960s, yet it is the least understood and utilized of the civil rights laws — housing discrimination lawsuits account for only 2% of all civil rights lawsuits filed in federal courts. Michigan’s civil rights acts, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) and the Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PDCRA), also contain housing rights provisions that largely track the federal statute. This article introduces some features of the Fair Housing Act that make it such a powerful tool to address civil rights violations by requiring more than merely treating everyone equally.
Read full article here.
January 19, 2021
Interracial couple sues for realtor discrimination, told they needed all-cash offer for home
Read here.