About

The Law Offices of Donald J. Schmid practices in the areas of federal and state criminal law, complex civil litigation, internal investigations, and regulatory compliance. When there is a lot on the line, and your liberty or the very survival of your business is at risk, high-level prior experience is crucial. Tenacious advocacy is required.With over 30 years litigation experience and more than 21 years as a federal prosecutor, attorney Donald J. Schmid will provide you with strategic case evaluation and fearless advocacy. Your rights as an individual or as a business will be protected and vindicated. Mr. Schmid knows how to win in court, and has done so in more than 75 jury trials.Additionally, with respect to sensitive internal investigations, Mr. Schmid's careful discretion, integrity, and judgment will ensure that the matter is thoroughly examined and evaluated. You can count on it.Donald J. Schmid is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and practices in the areas of criminal defense, civil litigation, internal investigations, and regulatory compliance. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Northern District of Indiana for more than 21 years from 1994 to May 2016. As an award-winning federal prosecutor, he won more than 75 jury trials in the United States District Court. He was Chief of the South Bend Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2002 to 2004.Prior to becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Schmid was a successful civil trial and appellate lawyer with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles, California. He litigated in numerous areas of law including securities fraud, trademark and intellectual property, banking, antitrust, legal ethics, and employment. Among his clients were the British Broadcasting Co., Grove Worldwide Inc., and PaineWebber. He is also experienced in alternative dispute resolution including mediation and arbitration.As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Schmid led complex investigations and prosecutions in the areas of public corruption, white collar fraud including healthcare fraud, organized and violent crime, environmental crime, and illegal drug trafficking/money laundering. He won numerous awards from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, DEA, the Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Department of Justice, and many other government agencies. Mr. Schmid was widely known for his consummate skill as an oral and written advocate.Mr. Schmid has served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School where he taught a class in criminal justice policy and restorative justice. He currently lectures in the Notre Dame Business School in the areas of white collar crime, health care law, and regulatory compliance. He is a recognized expert in criminal law and procedure, the U.S. sentencing laws, restorative justice, and legal ethics.Mr. Schmid is a member of the Indiana and California Bars.Mr. Schmid was appointed to and served on COPRAC, the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, which is responsible for issuing opinions on legal ethics. He also served as a Professional Responsibility Officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.In 2001, Mr. Schmid won the prestigious Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy. With that fellowship, he traveled throughout New Zealand speaking and writing. He was part of a special task force on criminal law and restorative justice headed by the Chief Judge of the New Zealand District Court. He appeared on radio and TV in New Zealand. When he returned to the U.S., he helped to establish a restorative justice program for juveniles in St. Joseph County, Indiana.Mr. Schmid graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and philosophy. He graduated magna cum laude with his law degree (J.D.) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1985 and was awarded the honor of Order of the Coif.As an undergraduate, Mr. Schmid was awarded a Mellon Undergraduate Research Fellowship and studied at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine – Law and Psychiatry. There he designed his own research study into patient confidentiality/privacy and was the lead author of “Confidentiality in Psychiatry: A Study of the Patient’s View,” published in the Journal of Hospital and Community Psychiatry. Mr. Schmid has also published papers regarding restorative justice policy, criminal justice policy, and alternative dispute resolution.

Practices Areas

Criminal Defense

Litigation

Language

English

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