Paul W. Schmidt

Paul Schmidt is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and litigation strategist with decades of experience defending clients in the most complex and high-stakes lawsuits. He serves as co-chair of the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Torts Practice Group, a four-time recipient of The American Lawyer’s Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year award and ranked Band 1: The Elite by Chambers. His work encompasses mass tort litigation, ranging from life sciences clients to social media companies, and complex commercial litigation, class actions, and media cases. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

The National Law Journal has separately cited Paul as one of the nation’s “Top Litigators” and “Winning Litigators,” and he has been recognized multiple times by The American Lawyer as a “Litigator of the Week” for trial and appellate wins. Chambers ranks him as Band 1 for Trials and Product Liability, citing client interviews describing him as “the all-around package,” “very client-friendly,” and “one of the smartest and most talented lawyers in the product liability space,” while commending his “stellar trial experience,” “strategic excellence,” “rare ability to be a high-level trial and appellate lawyer,” and “exceptional advocacy.” A recent book by Washington Post reporters described a key cross-examination of his in a multi-billion dollar trial win as “a master class in how to destroy a witness.”

Paul’s trial work includes wins for McKesson in the opioids litigation, Boehringer in Pradaxa litigation, Lilly in Cymbalta litigation, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in Accutane litigation, and the National Football League in complex labor and commercial disputes. He has also played a central role in ending a series of mass litigations through precedent-setting trial court and appellate legal rulings. He has successfully argued appeals around the country, obtaining wins that have been repeatedly recognized by the National Law Journal in its “Appellate Hot List.”