Name: Penny Schmidt
Age: 45
Family: Married to my husband, John, for 21 years and we have a beautiful 12-year-old daughter, Sydney.
Pets: 2 long-haired dachshunds named Wolfgang and Max.
Education: I attended the University of Florida for undergraduate and then attended law school at St. Thomas University in Miami, where I graduated with honors in 1992.
Admitted to the Bar: 1992
Employed by: Schutt, Schmidt & Noey
Field of practice: I practice primarily in the areas of personal injury and construction defect defense. I am also a certified Circuit Court Mediator and trained arbitrator and mediate and arbitrate civil disputes.
Professional organizations: The Florida Bar, The Jacksonville Bar Association (ADR Section member), The Jacksonville Association of Defense Counsel (former president), Florida Defense Lawyers Association (co-chairman of the Marketing and Webinar sub-committee for the ADR Section, Task Force for the Medicare Secondary Payor Statute committee member), Defense Research Institute, The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section, The Florida Academy of Professional Mediators.
Community involvement: I have volunteered a few times to be part of “Ask-A-Lawyer,” which is a pro bono project established by The Jacksonville Bar Association to help provide legal advice and assistance to the poor and disadvantaged.
How did you get involved?
I was asked by one of the Bar members if I would be interested in volunteering and agreed to help out.
How can someone else get involved?
Simply call The Jacksonville Bar Association and say you are interested in volunteering for this program and The JBA will let you know the next date of this pro bono event.
What have you learned/achieved through the experience?
I have learned that there is a large segment of our society that really needs legal advice and guidance but does not have the resources to pay a lawyer and really doesn’t know how to go about finding a lawyer to help with a specific situation. I have personally found it to be very rewarding. As a wife, mother and attorney, I don’t have a lot of spare time but I think it is important for me, as an attorney, to give back to the community. Being a volunteer for Ask-A-Lawyer only takes three to four hours on a Saturday so all of us should be able to find the time to help out.
What was the last book you read or are reading?
“Through My Eyes,” a book written by and about Tim Tebow. It was great read. Very inspiring and motivational.