Lateral Growth Committee Chair and Immediate-Past Managing Partner Rhonda Tobin accepted the “Law Firm Excellence in Innovation” award on behalf of Robinson+Cole at Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Legal Excellence in Innovation Awards & Virtual Summit, on April 14, 2026, in Boston, MA. The inaugural award recognized legal leaders, law firms, and organizations that are pushing the practice of law forward through creativity, technology, and new strategies.

During her tenure as Managing Partner, Rhonda demonstrated disciplined leadership and executed a long term vision toward building technology-enabled legal practices that address emerging risks in artificial intelligence (AI), data privacy, and cybersecurity—culminating in Robinson+Cole becoming the first Am Law 200 law firm to partner with Newcode.ai, a provider of agentic AI solutions designed specifically for the legal industry. Through this partnership, R+C implemented a highly focused security-first, governance-driven approach to integrate AI as a strategic capability.

In conjunction with this long-term vision, R+C’s innovative leadership is further reinforced by the strength and recognition of its Artificial Intelligence team, which launched in 2023, well ahead of the monumental surge in enterprise adoption of generative AI, and its Data Privacy + Cybersecurity team, which operates at the intersection of law, technology, and real-world urgency. 2025 saw the firm earn the ISO 27001 certification, a stringent information security standard for business, and became the first law firm in the country to receive the ARMA Verified Organization status, which recognizes the firm’s commitment to excellence in information governance, records management, and data stewardship.

Additionally, R+C’s recent relocation of its Boston office to 53 State Street reflects the firm’s commitment to a holistic approach to innovation that extends beyond digital tools, with intentionally designed spaces to support collaboration, hybrid work, and technology-enabled practices through advanced conferencing systems, digital room management, and privacy-conscious design features.