Paul D. Schmitt

Paul D. Schmitt

Of Counsel
About

Paul Schmitt has a broad practice focusing on various aspects of international and commercial litigation. He has represented and advised clients on various issues, including the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the Alien Tort Statute, international human rights, False Claims Act liability, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other white collar matters, commercial contractual disputes, and commercial speech rights. Paul’s clients have included foreign governments, government contractors, pharmaceutical companies, and public interest and human rights groups.

Paul has extensive appellate experience. He has argued and prevailed in appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the D.C. Court of Appeals. He has also written appellate briefs in numerous matters, including in the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, the D.C. Court of Appeals, and the Maryland Court of Appeals. At the trial level, Paul has participated in two state court trials and an international arbitration in Singapore.

Paul earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his Ph.D. in European History from the University of Maryland at College Park. His doctoral dissertation focused on France’s colonial and diplomatic relationship with sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century.

Bar admissionsDistrict of ColumbiaMaryland
CourtsSupreme Court of the United StatesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States District Court for the District of ColumbiaUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland
Education
  • Ph.D., European History, University of Maryland 2011
    Doctoral dissertation focused on France's diplomatic relationship with sub-Saharan Africa after World War II
  • J.D., Georgetown University Law Center 2010
    Articles Editor, Georgetown Journal of International Law
  • M.A., History, University of Maryland 2003

Clerk Experience

Before joining DLA Piper, Paul served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Prior Experience

Paul previously served as a legal intern in Chambers at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, where he assisted judges in a major war crimes trial.

Teaching Experience

In 2017-2018, Paul taught international and commercial law at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in The Hague, Netherlands. Paul previously taught courses for five years at the University of Maryland on human rights, war crimes and genocide, colonialism and modern European history.

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