Jerry Blackwell

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.

June 29, 2022

Brief 18: Jerry Blackwell on Persuasive Phrases

Jerry Blackwell is a master at coming up with insightful words that will convince you of his point. He shares the secrets behind his creative phrases in this Brief episode, and it will give you some great ideas. In these 'Br…
Jan. 26, 2022

14. Jerry Blackwell and Steve Schleicher: Prosecuting Derek Chauvin (Part 2) - Trial Techniques

In part 2 of this two-part interview, Jerry Blackwell and Steve Schleicher continue their discussion with host Bibi Badejo and reflect on the techniques they used to successfully prosecute in State of Minnesota v Derek Micha…
Jan. 19, 2022

13. Jerry Blackwell and Steve Schleicher: Prosecuting Derek Chauvin (Part 1) - Preparation

In the first episode of Season 2, Jerry Blackwell and Steve Schleicher discuss the prosecution of Derek Chauvin with host Bibi Badejo. In the first of this two-part interview they discuss their careers as advocates and break…