Commercial Litigation Mediation
Terrance E. Schmidt
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2001 
Firm
Schmidt Mediation PA
1 Best Lawyers award
Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Terrance E. Schmidt is a Florida-based mediator, arbitrator, and retired civil litigator with over 50 years of legal experience. A Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator and longtime member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, he has mediated more than 6,000 cases and served as an arbitrator in dozens more.
Mr. Schmidt’s career as a commercial litigator spanned a wide range of complex disputes—including business torts, securities, employment discrimination, professional malpractice, construction defects, real estate, and insurance claims. Since transitioning to full-time dispute resolution in 2001, he has mediated high-stakes cases with claims ranging from multimillion-dollar contract disputes to catastrophic personal injury and class actions.
His notable experience includes mediations involving international patent claims, telecom disputes exceeding $400 million, and multi-party commercial and employment cases involving Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and governmental entities.
Mr. Schmidt is widely respected for his thorough preparation, even-handed approach, and ability to facilitate resolution in the most contentious and complex matters.
To view his full biography and current availability, visit schmidtmediation.com.
Firm
Schmidt Mediation PA
1 Best Lawyers award
Overview
- English
- Duke University, J.D., graduated 1973
- Wittenberg University, B.A., Political Science, graduated 1967
- Florida, American Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution
- Florida, Jacksonville Bar Association
- Florida, The Florida Bar, 1973
- Florida Academy of Professional Mediators - Member
- Chester Bedell Inn of Court - Member
- The College of Master Advocates and Barristers - Member
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals - Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Member
- American College of Civil Trial Mediators - Member
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits
- English
- Florida, American Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution
- Florida, Jacksonville Bar Association
- Florida, The Florida Bar, 1973
- Florida Academy of Professional Mediators - Member
- Chester Bedell Inn of Court - Member
- The College of Master Advocates and Barristers - Member
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals - Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Member
- American College of Civil Trial Mediators - Member
- Duke University, J.D., graduated 1973
- Wittenberg University, B.A., Political Science, graduated 1967
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Mediation
- Commercial Litigation
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Litigation - Construction
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
- Civil Rights Law
- Litigation - Securities
- Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Insurance Law
- Real Estate Law
- Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
- Construction Law
Special Focus:
- Antitrust
- Arbitration
- Civil Litigation
- Civil Rights
- Commercial
- Commercial Disputes
- Complex Disputes
- Complex Litigation
- Construction
- Contract Disputes
- Equine
- Fraud
- Insurance
- Mediation
- Personal Injury
- Real Estate
Awards:
Resolution of Appreciation, The Florida Bar (2002) — for pro bono service as Special Counsel in the F. Lee Bailey disbarment proceeding
Best Lawyers, Jacksonville, Commercial Litigation, Mediation (2001–present)
Super Lawyers – Alternative Dispute Resolution, Florida Super Lawyers (2006–present)
Legal Elite for Mediation, Florida Trend Magazine (2007–present)
Senior Counsel, The College of Master Advocates and Barristers
Master, Chester Bedell Inn of Court
News & Media
Additional Information
Case History
Cases
- The Florida Bar v. F. Lee Bailey
… in the Florida Supreme Court; Mr. Schmidt, as Special Counsel for The Florida Bar, successfully prosecuted a disbarment proceeding against Mr. Bailey for having misappropriated and commingled funds held by him in trust to be ultimately forfeited to the United States in connection with the criminal prosecution of Claude Duboc, an international drug smuggler. It is noteworthy with respect to Mr. Schmidt’s relationship skills and/or Mr. Bailey’s capacity for forgiveness that 20 years after the disbarment case ended, Mr. Bailey and Mr. Schmidt met again for drinks and to renew acquaintances when Mr. Bailey traveled to Jacksonville to give a seminar.
- Andrews v. United States of America and Waste Management, Inc.
… in Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida; a toxic tort case in which the defendants deposited toxic chemicals into the Hipps Road Landfill in which Mr. Schmidt and others represented 134 plaintiffs who lived in close proximity to the landfill and suffered injuries from toxic chemicals that infiltrated the water table.
- Edwards v. Property Corporation
… in Florida State Court State; a shareholders’ derivative action in which an heir of an original shareholder from 1950 sought a determination that the sales proceeds from the sale of the first Jewish country club and golf course in Jacksonville should be distributed to the heirs of the original shareholders rather than retained and used to build a Jewish community center; Mr. Schmidt successfully represented the entity that owned the property, and the proceeds of the sale were ultimately used to build the current JCA Community Center.
- Jones v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company
… in Florida State Court; an ADA and fraud case in which Mr. Schmidt represented a disabled senior vice president of the company to whom the jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory and punitive damages and the court awarded an additional 16 years of front pay and attorneys’ fees.
- Roby v. Koger, et al
… in the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida; an action by participants in the Koger Properties, Inc. profit sharing plan against the outside directors of the company and others serving as trustees of the plan for having wrongfully invested the plan’s assets primarily in Koger Properties’ stock in which Mr. Schmidt successfully represented three of the outside directors, individually;
- The Insurance Commissioner of North Carolina v. Mason, et al
North Carolina Federal District Court; an action by the North Carolina Commissioner on behalf of American Assurance Life Insurance Company to declare the company insolvent and seek damages against its officers, directors, and certain employees in which Mr. Schmidt represented one of the employees.
- VKK, Inc. and Victor Kiam v. The National Football League
21 of its teams, and Touchdown Jacksonville, Inc. in New York Federal District Court; an antitrust case in which Mr. Schmidt successfully represented Touchdown Jacksonville, Inc. in defending claims that it conspired with the National Football League to unlawfully terminate relocation discussions with Mr. Kiam, the then owner of the New England Patriots.
- Continental Southeast Land Corporation, in Florida U.S. Bankruptcy court
… originally a Chapter 11 case which subsequently evolved into litigation in Florida circuit and appellate courts, the Federal District Courts of Florida and Nevada, the Ninth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal, the United States Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court of Ontario over a 17-year period in which Mr. Schmidt successfully represented the trustee and obtained a $3 million alter ego judgment against Sidney L. Jaffe, the principal of the company; during the course of that litigation, Mr. Jaffe sued Mr. Schmidt and others for extortion and kidnapping arising out of Mr. Jaffee’s arrest for land sales fraud following a bankruptcy court hearing; Mr. Jaffee was convicted, served 18 months in prison, and then sued Mr. Schmidt and others in Tornoto, Ontario, Canada; that lawsuit lasted 8 years after which Mr. Schmidt and the other defendants prevailed, and the trustee successfully enforced his $3 million judgment against Mr. Jaffe’s residential condominium.
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