Paul Robinette - wikipedia Paul Robinette For the YouTube celebrity, see Paul Robinett. This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2015 ) This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. It should be expanded to provide more balanced coverage that includes real - world context. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. ( December 2011 ) Paul Robinette Law & Order character First appearance `` Prescription for Death '' ( Law & Order ) Last appearance `` Uncertainty Principle '' ( Chicago Justice ) Portrayed by Richard Brooks Time on show 1990 -- 1993, 1996, 2005, 2006 Seasons 1, 2, 3, 6, 16, 17 Credited appearances 69 episodes ( total ) Succeeded by Claire Kincaid Paul Robinette, played by Richard Brooks, is a fictional character who appeared in the TV drama series Law & Order from the pilot episode in 1990 until the final episode of the third season, `` Benevolence, '' in 1993. He is the first of the seven Assistant District Attorneys who have been featured on Law & Order, and the only male. He appeared in 69 episodes. Contents 1 Character overview 2 Departure from show 3 Guest appearances 4 References Character overview Robinette is introduced as having been raised in Harlem and worked his way through law school. He had the chance to work on Wall Street, but turned it down in favor of the Manhattan District Attorney 's office, where he felt he could make a difference. He works under Ben Stone ( Michael Moriarty ). He was mentored as a teenager by Deputy Police Commander William Jefferson, who inspired him to become a lawyer. In the pilot episode, `` Everybody 's Favorite Bagman '', however, he and Stone discover that Jefferson is corrupt, and that he conspired to murder a city councilman. Robinette advocates racial equality through equal treatment, including equal punishment ; while he abhors racism, he feels no sympathy for black people who break the law. He insists on being treated as the equal of his white colleagues, without what he feels are added advantages from affirmative action policies. However, numerous African Americans are at odds with his role in the judicial system, creating a recurring sense of deep inner conflict for the man. As a result, Robinette 's views on race change throughout the series. In the first season episode `` Out of the Half - Light '', Stone asks Robinette if he thinks of himself as `` a black lawyer or a lawyer who 's black ''. Robinette at first considers himself the latter, but by the time he leaves the DA 's office and becomes a defense attorney, he thinks of race as a more integral part of his reasons for practicing law. Departure from show Robinette leaves the DA 's office at the end of the third season, and eventually becomes a defense attorney who represents his clients as victims of institutionalized racism. He is replaced by Claire Kincaid ( Jill Hennessy ). Initially, his disappearance from the show was never explained and was not mentioned in either the third season end or fourth season opener. NBC press releases at the time of the character 's departure mentioned that Robinette had moved to a Park Avenue law firm. On the 4th season DVD, a deleted scene includes Lt. Anita Van Buren ( S. Epatha Merkerson ) asking to see Robinette. Stone responds with `` Uh, you 'll have to take a cab uptown. Park Avenue. Woodward, Martin, and Schwartz. '' Guest appearances Robinette has reappeared on the show three times : once in 1996, 2005 and 2006, as opposing counsel to Stone 's successor, Jack McCoy ( Sam Waterston ). In the 1996 episode `` Custody '', he defends a black woman who attempted to kidnap her son from his white adoptive parents. In the 2005 episode `` Birthright '', he defends a nurse accused of performing sterilizations on promiscuous black teenagers whom she deems emotionally unfit to become parents. In the 2006 episode `` Fear America '', he defends a Muslim accused of murder who killed to cover up his terrorist activities. In that episode, Robinette accuses McCoy and the D.A. 's office of participating in a giant conspiracy to make every Muslim appear to be a terrorist. However, he maintains a respectful relationship with the DA 's office, even sometimes having drinks with his now - opponents. In 2017, Robinette traveled to Chicago to defend CPD Officer Kevin Atwater at the request of Sergeant Hank Voight, where he went up against Ben Stone 's son, Assistant State 's Attorney Peter Stone. References ^ Jump up to : `` Out of the Half - Light ''. Law & Order. Season 1. Episode 11. December 11, 1990. NBC. ^ Jump up to : `` Everybody 's Favorite Bagman ''. Law & Order. Season 1. Episode 6. October 30, 1990. NBC. Jump up ^ `` Subterranean Homeboy Blues ''. Law & Order. Season 1. Episode 2. September 20, 1990. NBC. ^ Jump up to : `` Custody ''. Law & Order. Season 6. Episode 14. February 21, 1996. NBC. Jump up ^ `` Discord ''. Law & Order. Season 4. Episode 3. October 6, 1993. NBC. Jump up ^ `` Birthright ''. Law & Order. Season 16. Episode 6. November 2, 2005. NBC. Jump up ^ `` Fear America ''. Law & Order. Season 17. Episode 4. October 13, 2006. NBC. Jump up ^ `` Uncertainty Principle ''. Chicago Justice. Season 1. Episode 2. March 5, 2017. NBC. Law & Order Characters Police Sgt. Max Greevey Sgt. Phil Cerreta Lennie Briscoe Joe Fontana Ed Green Cyrus Lupo Mike Logan Rey Curtis Nick Falco Nina Cassady Kevin Bernard Captain Donald Cragen Lieutenant Anita Van Buren District attorneys Benjamin Stone Jack McCoy Michael Cutter Paul Robinette Claire Kincaid Jamie Ross Abbie Carmichael Serena Southerlyn Alexandra Borgia Connie Rubirosa Adam Schiff Nora Lewin Arthur Branch Recurring characters Elizabeth Olivet, Ph. D. Emil Skoda, M.D. Elizabeth Rodgers, M.D. Danielle Melnick Seasons 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Notable episodes `` Prescription for Death '' `` Everybody 's Favorite Bagman '' `` Manhood '' `` Aftershock '' `` Empire '' `` Mother 's Day '' `` Sunday in the Park with Jorge '' `` Public Service Homicide '' `` Burn Card '' `` The Drowned and the Saved '' `` Dignity '' `` Fed '' `` Blackmail '' `` Steel - Eyed Death '' `` Boy on Fire '' `` Rubber Room '' TV film Exiled : A Law & Order Movie See also Episodes Cast Law & Order franchise Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Robinette&oldid=800676272 '' Categories : Law & Order characters Fictional African - American people Fictional characters from New York City Fictional characters introduced in 1990 Fictional lawyers Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from May 2015 All articles needing additional references Articles to be expanded from December 2011 All articles to be expanded Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields Talk Contents About Wikipedia Português Edit links This page was last edited on 15 September 2017, at 00 : 40. 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Question: who played paul robinette on law & order
Answer: Richard Brooks