Firm chairman Jerry W. Blackwell was recently selected for inclusion in the 20th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© (2014). Mr. Blackwell’s selection recognizes him as a top product liability defense attorney. Since first being published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence and is one of the most visible peer-review publications in the legal profession. Because inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which almost 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. The publication’s list of prominent attorneys appears in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune among others. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Mr. Blackwell is an accomplished trial lawyer. He serves as national counsel and national trial counsel for major corporations, having represented them in federal and state courts in 47 states and internationally. His practice areas include class action defense, commercial litigation, food industry defense, labor and employment, products liability, and toxic tort litigation. Mr. Blackwell has received numerous honors, including: twice being a BTI Client Service All-Star; being named Minnesota Attorney of the Year; receiving the Minnesota Minority Business Owner of the Year Award; Minnesota Equal Justice Award; and the Kappa Alpha Psi Distinguished Citizen Award. Since 2002, he has consistently been honored as a Super Lawyer. In 2011, Governor Mark Dayton appointed Mr. Blackwell to serve as an at-large member of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection. He is the founder of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.
Blackwell Burke P.A., a litigation and trial boutique in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serves as national trial and litigation counsel for several Fortune 500 companies. The firm has extensive experience in class action defense, commercial litigation, food industry defense, labor and employment, products liability, toxic tort litigation, and trial practice. The firm has represented corporate clients in practically every jurisdiction in the country, as well as several foreign countries.
For more information about Mr. Blackwell, please contact Kandy Branch at 612-343-3235.