Biography
Mark is a lifelong resident of southeastern Pennsylvania, graduating from Upper Darby High School (1983), the University of Pennsylvania (1987), and Temple University School of Law (1990). He has practiced in the Workers’ Compensation law field for over Thirty Years. He is a Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist (pursuant to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and PA Bar Assn Rules).
Mark began his career as a law clerk at PMA Insurance Company and became staff counsel upon his admission to the Bar in 1990, defending employers against work injury claims. In 1994, he became a sole practitioner affiliated with a law firm in Delaware County and has represented injured workers against insurance companies ever since. There, he met Vasil Kirifides, Esq., and they opened the firm Schmidt & Kirifides in 1997. Later, when joined by George Rassias, the firm became Schmidt, Kirifides & Rassias.
Mark has argued several “Landmark Cases” before the Supreme and Commonwealth Courts of Pennsylvania in support of the rights of Injured Workers. After being recognized by Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazine as a “Rising Star” in 2005, he has been named one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers every year since 2007. From 2012 to now, he has earned the Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award and carries the ultimate AV Rating. He has been voted by his clients as a “Client Champion” and “Delaware County Best Workers’ Compensation Lawyer.”
He has been an invited Presenter at CLE Seminars on Workers’ Compensation topics for the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Delaware County Bar Associations, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, several Labor Unions, and other Institutions. He has occasionally appeared on Television to speak about Workers’ Compensation issues. He is a member of the Delaware County Bar Association and their Workers’ Compensation Committee, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly PA Trial Lawyers Association). He married Deborah Sawyer in 1995, and he and his wife reside in West Chester, Pa., with their two children. Having suffered a severe, work-related low back injury himself in 2008 and again in 2017, Mark is truly sympathetic to the pain each of his clients must go through, as well as the frustration they experience with the Workers’ Compensation “system.” He is uniquely qualified to show compassion and understanding to his client’s needs and concerns.
Mark R. Schmidt authored an Article Published in the Delco Re: View, the Delaware County Bar Associations’ Quarterly News Journal. The article discussed Attorney Schmidt’s involvement in the “Re-Invented Workers’ Compensation Committee of the DCBA” since becoming one of the Co-Chairs of the Committee.
Attorney Schmidt has also led numerous Continuing Legal Education Seminars throughout his career. Most recently, he spoke at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute program, Tough Problems in Workers’ Compensation, on “How to Deal with Difficult Litigators.” He also presented at the Delaware County Bar Association Bench Bar Conference on the issue of “Protecting Medicaid Eligibility,” a topic becoming more prevalent in many fields of law where an individual may become disqualified from Medical Assistance benefits after receiving a settlement, verdict, inheritance or other income greater than the qualifying limits.
Representative Clients
- Phila. Eagles Player (non-disclosure)
- Phila. Police Officers (FOP Lodge 5)
- Phila. Union Leaders and Laborers
Past Positions
- Mark R. Schmidt, Esq., Sole Practitioner, 04/1994 to 01/1997
- PMA Insurance Co., Staff Counsel, 11/1990 to 04/1994
Certified Legal Specialties
- Workers’ Compensation
Current Employment Position
- Founding and Managing ‘Legal’ Partner, SKR
*AV®, BV®, AV Preeminent® and BV Distinguished® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell peer review ratings fall into two categories — legal ability and general practice standards.
