Brief 18: Jerry Blackwell on Persuasive Phrases

Jerry W. Blackwell is the founding partner, CEO and chairman of Blackwell Burke P.A. He serves as national and trial counsel for several major corporations, having represented them in federal and state courts in 47 states and internationally. He has nationwide experience defending class actions, toxic tort, commercial disputes, products liability, and other high stakes complex cases.

Further to the Derek Chauvin trial, in 2020, in tandem with the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Jerry and his firm secured the first posthumous pardon in Minnesota history for Max Mason, a young black man who was wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in 1920.

Mr Blackwell is a founder of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers (MABL), a bar association that promotes the professional development of Black lawyers, judges and law students in Minnesota, and advances education, excellence and racial equity in the pursuit of justice. In 2011, Governor Mark Dayton appointed Mr Blackwell to serve as an at-large member of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Appointments. He served two terms until 2019.

Mr Blackwell is the recipient of numerous awards, including Minnesota Attorney of the Year, Benchmark Litigation Minnesota Litigation Star, BTI Client Service Super All Star, the National Bar Association Commercial Section Cora T. Walker Award, Minnesota Minority Business Owner of the Year, and Minnesota Super Lawyer.