Minnesota Icons 2025: Peter Schmit, Robins Kaplan LLP

Peter Schmit is a partner and national medical malpractice, personal injury and civil rights group chair at Robins Kaplan LLP, where he has practiced law for 36 years. He leads a team dedicated to securing justice for clients in high-stakes, life-altering cases and has tried and settled numerous significant cases in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa involving all types of medical malpractice.

Schmit served as the 61st president of the Minnesota Association for Justice, promoting the theme “Pay It Forward” and championing mentorship among trial lawyers, reinforcing the importance of the right to a jury trial and engaging in legislative advocacy to protect access to justice. He chairs the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services Campaign for Legal Aid, an organization that provides free, high-quality legal help to low-income people in critical civil matters.

His legal advocacy has resulted in hundreds of life-changing outcomes for clients. Selected results include a $3.5 million recovery for a patient with a heart issue, a $3.1 million recovery for an anesthesia issue, a $3.1 million result for the mismanagement of a brain bleed and a $2.5 million settlement following a spinal surgery. Other results include a $2 million pre-suit settlement for the wrongful death of a mother due to a delayed cancer diagnosis and a $1.75 million settlement for the family of a female motorcyclist killed in a crash caused by a driver’s failure to yield.

As a frequent lecturer and author on medical malpractice, Schmit shares his expertise with the next generation of lawyers. He delivers the opening and closing remarks of the firm’s cornerstone continuing legal education program, “The Trial Advocacy Seminar,” which draws more than 100 legal professionals across the Twin Cities. He has spoken at conferences hosted by the Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota Association for Justice and Hennepin County Bar Association. He spearheads “The Justice Report” newsletter from the firm’s personal injury, medical malpractice, mass tort and civil rights groups.
Schmit is certified as a civil trial specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association and has earned induction into the American Board of Trial Advocates and the American College of Trial Lawyers.