Robin Jenkinson

Her Work: City Attorney

“When the light pours in here it really does lift your spirit.”

When I ask Ms. Jenkinson to tell me about her workspace she replies “Oh, I love my workspace. I have a nice view.” She tells me that it overlooks the city and she can see the lake through the trees when there aren’t many leaves. She says that there are beautiful sunsets here and occasionally a bald eagle flies by. She says “It’s quite lovely.”Ms. Robin Jenkinson tells me “I like this space very much. I very much enjoy having all this glass and the view and not because if I was in a big law firm having the corner office or something would be a sign of prestige. I’m very fortunate to have the space that I do. I very much like having the outdoor view.” She tells me that “It’s no different than when I’m at my house I want to sit in a room where there’s a window.”

There is so much glass in Ms. Robin Jenkinson’s office which creates an expanding feeling.  Ms. Jenkinson tells me “I particularly like the openness of it, you get sunlight in here when there is sunlight to be had.” “I very much enjoy having all this glass and the view.” Ms. Jenkinson has been in this office for four years but for during her first year at this position she was in a downstairs office. I ask her about her old office compared to the one she is now. She says “I was anxious to be up here plus it just works better in terms of with interacting with folks.” She tells me how her current office works better for her in terms of functionality, accessibility and then also because of her personal preference.  

Ms. Jenkinson tells me that in her current office that “even if it’s snowing it’s nice to see what’s going on.” The downstairs office had no windows and she says “by way of contrast, the windowless space, you come in, and in the winter in the dark. And there are those days where you just work flat out, and you go out and it’s dark— so that’s not so good.” She tells me that when it is nice and sunny out that she sometimes goes running during her lunch break. She tells me that even though it’s a cloudy day and she won’t be wandering outside that it’s nice because she won’t feel like she is emerging from a cave when she leaves for the day. Ms. Jenkinson tells me “I realize I’m lucky” because there is an open office plan in much of the building which means that the only private spaces are against the outer wall. For obvious reasons it is clear to me why an attorney should use a space that is audibly private in order to discuss legal issues.

I ask her to describe the work environment that she feels she works best in and she tells me “light is good. Quiet is good. I’m not someone who works well with music and that sort of thing and I understand some people do, but I don’t.” When I ask her to put her experience in her workspace into a few words she says “warm” and “friendly.” She says “I like that it’s set right in the middle of town” and she tells me that she likes how small the building is.

As a city attorney Ms. Jenkinson says to me “I like to think that some of the work we do is doing good, that we’re trying to help the city do its work and the city is trying to do the right thing. So I take some comfort in thinking that we’re actually trying to do good things for people.” There is an inherent balancing act to her profession because she offers legal advice and is also a resident so she tells me how important it is to keep her personal views completely separate. She says “I try to at all times give advice that is based on good sound legal reasoning not based on my own personal views or perspectives and that’s what I strive to do, I think that’s also what I do.”

When I ask Ms. Robin Jenkinson to put her experience with her work into a few words, she says “Challenging. Rewarding. Intellectually stimulating.”