Robert Bennett, Robins Kaplan LLP

Robert Bennett is a seasoned trial lawyer with several multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements under his belt. He handles all types of civil matters, including cases involving civil rights law and police misconduct, auto and truck accident cases, product liability cases, and commercial disputes of all types.

Bennett was named a Minnesota Icon in 2021, has received several Attorney of the Year awards, and is consistently named a “Super Lawyer.” This year, he was inducted into the Lawdragon Hall of Fame.

In recent years, Bennett was part of a team of Robins Kaplan lawyers that settled with the City of Minneapolis for $8.75 million for excessive force claims involving officers including former police officer Derek Chauvin. That same team also represented a man whose bacterial infection went untreated while in police custody, resulting in a heart attack and the loss of both arms. The case settled for $12.2 million.

What are the biggest challenges you currently see in personal injury law?

Getting everyone involved to understand we operate in a fact-based universe and telling a compelling story to a divided set of jurors.

What advice would you give a client to avoid legal complications in a personal injury case?

No social media ever.

Without revealing the names of a client, what is the most interesting case you’ve worked on lately?

Excessive force, deliberate indifference to the health and rights of others, especially those who cannot care for themselves, wrongful death and catastrophic injuries instead.

How do you manage work/life balance?

Better than I used to.

What is one thing you would change about Minnesota if you could?

No mosquitoes or ticks.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I have grown to like professional basketball.