Mr. Dobbins was born June 19, 1919, in Louisville, Kentucky and received a combined Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degree from Washington & Lee University, with high honors, in 1942. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa in the undergraduate school, and to Phi Delta Phi and Order of the Coif in law school. He served as co-editor-in-chief of the Washington & Lee Law Review and was elected president of the student body. In 2004, Mr. Dobbins was inducted into the Washington & Lee Athletic Hall of Fame. The citation recognized Mr. Dobbins as a four-year member of the basketball and football teams, the leading scorer on the basketball team, an all-state basketball selection his junior and senior years, and team captain and student body president his senior year.

After serving in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific theaters with the U.S. Navy in World War II, Mr. Dobbins joined the Richmond firm which eventually became Wallerstein, Goode & Dobbins. In 1986, that firm merged with Williams, Mullen & Christian and took on the name of Williams, Mullen, Christian & Dobbins. In 1999 the firm merged with Clark & Stant changing its name to Williams Mullen. Mr. Dobbins was regarded as a transformational figure in the history of Williams Mullen.

Throughout his long legal career, Mr. Dobbins was closely associated with all areas of law related to banks and other financial institutions and was a member of the Lawyers Committee of the Association of Bank Holding Companies. For many years, he served as general counsel to one of Virginia's largest financial institutions and as a member of its board of directors. His service to banks, financial institutions, and the business community included organization and licensing, representation before regulatory and administrative bodies, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial litigation. He lectured frequently on various financial and commercial subjects.

Based on his reputation as a trial lawyer and his extensive experience in all state and federal courts, at both trial and appellate levels, Mr. Dobbins was elected as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Dobbins was also well known for his experience in governmental matters, and he rendered varied services to numerous local governments. He frequently testified before committees of the Virginia General Assembly in his capacity as general counsel to the Virginia Municipal League.

According to the CEO of Williams Mullen, Mr. Dobbins “was a lawyer’s lawyer. His knowledge of the law was extensive, and his skills covered multiple practice areas. He was a leader in the legal profession and was respected and admired by his peers.”

Mr. Dobbins was a permanent member of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, listed in The Best Lawyers in America, named a “Super Lawyer” by Virginia Super Lawyers magazine and rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest available rating. He was an active participant in the organized bar and served on numerous committees of the Richmond, Virginia, and American Bar Associations, and as a member of the House of Delegates of the ABA. The Richmond Bar Association awarded Mr. Dobbins its Professionalism Award in 1997. He served as President of the Virginia State Bar 1974-1975, having also served on its Executive Committee, as chairman of its Business Law Section, and on the Board of Governors of its Senior Lawyers Section. 1974 was the same year he began his service to the Virginia Law Foundation which elected him to its inaugural class of Fellows in 1984.

Mr. Dobbins was a member, trustee, and former deacon of Second Baptist Church, and a Sunday school teacher.

Not until he was in his mid-nineties did Mr. Dobbins fully retire from his firm. He was known both for his deep respect for the law, and for his playful sense of humor. A member of the Country Club of Virginia and the Commonwealth Club, when asked by a doctor for the secret of a long and healthy life, Mr. Dobbins reportedly answered, “a little Jack Daniels every day.” He died on Christmas day in 2017 at the age of 98.