Named after longtime activist and civil rights attorney Dean A. Robb (Wayne Law class of 1949), the annual Dean Robb Public Interest Lecture is intended to inspire law students, attorneys, public-interest groups and everyday citizens to become more active in public service and public-interest law.

Past speakers include Joan Claybrook, former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who issued the first standards requiring airbags in automobiles; Arthur Bryant, executive director of public justice for the Public Justice Foundation; and Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

The series is made possible by the Royal Oak law firm of Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers PC and is supported by the Public Justice Foundation.