James Schwebel
About James Schwebel
In 1974, Jim Schwebel founded what is now Minnesota’s largest law practice specializing in personal injury litigation. Today, he and his partners lead a team of experienced attorneys and staff who are committed to achieving fair and swift compensation for their clients. Jim was named “Minneapolis Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigator of the Year” for 2014 by Best Lawyers in America, a distinction he also held in 2011. He has been recognized in Minnesota Law and Politics as one of the “Top Three Personal Injured Attorney’s” and was also acknowledged by the same publication as one of “The 100 Most Influential Attorneys in Minnesota History.” From 1989 to present Jim has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. In 2007, Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine acknowledged him as one of Minnesota’s “Top 10 Super Lawyers.” The same acknowledgement was received from The National Law Journal when listing “Minnesota’s Top Ten Litigators.” Jim successfully represented victims of the MGM Hotel fire in Las Vegas. He was appointed by the Court as a member of the Plaintiff’s Liability Committee to handle claims for many Minnesotans who lost family members in the Galaxy Airlines crash in Reno, Nevada. Jim was honored to represent victims and secure substantial post-trial settlements following the Nicollet Mall Holidazle crash. Jim headed up a team of lawyers and experts representing those who had lost family members and many who had suffered significant injuries in the I-35W bridge collapse. Jim was one of the fist attorneys in Minnesota to be certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He was also selected for membership on the American Board of Trial Advocates. Jim is a fellow of the International Society of Barristers and a fellow of The American College of Trial Lawyers. Having now practiced in the field of personal injury litigation for over five decades, Jim is passionate about serving as an advocate for those who have suffered serious injury or the loss of a loved one.
Notable case results
James Schwebel represented 34 victims in a three-year lawsuit against engineering firm URS Corp, whose negligent inspection of the Minneapolis I-35W bridge preceded its August 2007 collapse, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others.
After Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashed on takeoff from Reno killing 70 of 71 aboard in January 1985, James Schwebel of Schwebel, Goetz, Sieben and Hanson served as counsel to the court-appointed Plaintiffs' Liability Committee, which coordinated liability discovery on behalf of all plaintiffs and was entitled to a percentage of each individual settlement.
After a Federal Signal flasher on a Minneapolis police van disabled the brake-shift interlock and the van surged into a Holidazzle Parade crowd, killing two and injuring nine, James R. Schwebel and James S. Ballentine of Schwebel, Goetz and Sieben won a precedent-setting appeal holding that a self-insured municipality must pay no-fault benefits independent of the municipal tort liability cap.
Personal injury
Personal injury
Personal injury
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
