Four Partners Named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America List

Robins Kaplan LLP is pleased to announce that partners Patrick Arenz, Rayna Kessler, Ronald Schutz, and Tara Sutton have been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide, recognizing the nation’s top attorneys.

According to Lawdragon, this guide honors “advocates who lead the way for clients, their communities, and their firms,” recognizing lawyers who are “brilliant, impassioned, and dedicated to the law and its practice.”

Patrick Arenz is a high-stakes trial lawyer with recent verdicts of $42.4 million and $27.8 million. A five-time Minnesota Lawyer “Attorney of the Year” and recognized as a “Trailblazer” by The American Lawyer, his practice spans patent and copyright infringement, complex business litigation, trade secret misappropriation, and personal injury. Arenz is a Fellow in both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. 

Ronald Schutz is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and immediate past chair of the firm’s Executive Board. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Schutz has tried and won some of the largest and most significant verdicts in the country, including multiple eight-figure jury awards in complex patent and business litigation. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading intellectual property trial lawyers and is frequently sought out for his courtroom experience, strategic judgment, and trial advocacy in high-stakes disputes.

Rayna Kessler, Deputy Chair of the firm’s National Mass Tort Group, represents survivors and individuals harmed by corporate and institutional misconduct in complex, high-stakes litigation nationwide. She currently serves as MDL Liaison Counsel in the Exactech hip and knee replacement litigation and has held court-appointed leadership roles in numerous MDLs and coordinated proceedings. In October 2025, she secured a $5 million jury verdict in New Jersey’s first-ever clergy sexual abuse trial against a Catholic Church entity, a landmark result affirming accountability for institutional abuse.

Tara Sutton chairs the firm’s National Mass Tort Group, representing individuals, governments, and Tribal Nations in complex product liability litigation. Her notable results include a $7.75 million verdict against an aerosol dust remover manufacturer, a $60.5 million settlement as lead trial counsel for Minnesota against JUUL and Altria, and historic settlements totaling $1.5 billion on behalf of Tribal Nations in opioid litigation. Named a “Lawdragon Legend” in 2024, this marks her 11th consecutive year on the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America list.