Kevin Carpenter

Kevin Carpenter is an attorney with over 25 years of legal experience and excellent credentials in personal injury law, insurance law, and mediation. As a solo practitioner, Kevin focuses on mediation services as an alternative to dispute resolution through the civil justice system.

As a practicing lawyer, Kevin has tried over 100 cases to a jury verdict, mostly in state district courts in many Minnesota counties, in central Minnesota but also in Hennepin, Anoka, Scott, Yellow Medicine, Wadena, and St. Louis counties. The issues in the cases he has tried have included medical malpractice, product liability, dram shop liability, insurance coverage, motor vehicle negligence, defamation and employment discrimination. Kevin has also tried cases having damage issues ranging from soft tissue injuries to psychological trauma to brain damage to wrongful death.

Kevin Carpenter has also briefed and argued over 30 cases before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, five cases before the Minnesota Supreme Court and two cases before the Eighth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.

With his extensive experience representing clients through trials and appeals, Kevin can help parties get to an appropriate resolution of a dispute more quickly and more cheaply than they would through “the system.” As a mediator, he helps parties decide who would likely “win” various issues if the case went forward, so the settlement agreement eventually reached makes sense and seems fair to those involved.

Education:

  • J.D., St. Louis University School of Law, St. Louis, MO, 1979.
  • B.A., cum laude, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN, 1976.

Admissions:

  • State of Minnesota, 1979.
  • U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 1980.
  • State of North Dakota, 1993.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1999.

Certifications:

  • Civil Trial Specialist Certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association, 1994, Recertified in 2000 and in 2005.
  • Civil Trial Specialist Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, 1995, Recertified in 2005.

Memberships, Professional Organizations & Societies:

  • American Bar Association
  • American Board of Trial Advocates
  • American Association for Justice
  • Minnesota State Bar Association
  • Minnesota Association for Justice
  • Stearns-Benton (Counties) Bar Association

Honors:

  • Named a “Minnesota Super Lawyer,” among those in the top 5% of practicing attorneys in Minnesota, by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine, for the years 2001 through 2007.
  • Rated “AV” in Martindale Hubbell Law Directory annually since about 1990.
  • Listed in Marquis' "Who’s Who in the World," "Who’s Who in America," and "Who’s Who in American Law."

Publications:

  • Wm. Mitchell Law Rev. Vol. 14 No. 1: "Discussions of Defendant’s Insurance Coverage During Voir Dire: An Analysis of the Current Practice and Its Origins," 1988.
  • Minn. Physician: Vol. 3, No. 1 and Vol. 3, No. 2: "Risk Management: Combating the Fear of a Minnesota Medical Malpractice Claim" (Parts One and Two), 1989.

Presentations:

  • “Legal Aspects of Nursing,” lecture presented to nursing students at College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, 1989.
  • “Legal Issues in Inpatient Obstetrics,” Ross Academy Partners in Nursing Education Seminar, St. Cloud, MN, 1992.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Training Courses Attended by Kevin Carpenter:

  • “Minnesota Arbitration Training,” presented by the Dispute Resolution Institute of Hamline University School of Law and the Mediation Center, 6.0 hours, August 24, 1994.
  • “Minnesota General Mediation Training,” presented by the Dispute Resolution Institute of Hamline University School of Law and the Mediation Center, 30.75 hours, November 4, 5, 11, 12, 1994.
  • “Enhancing Our Mediation Skills: A Deeper Look at Impartiality and Fresh Ideas for Creative Problem Solving,” presented by Peacemaker: A Center for Peace and Peacemaking at the Earle Brown Center, University of Minnesota, 6.0 hours, May 12, 1995.
  • "Advanced Mediation Issues and Techniques," presented by the Hamline University School of Law Dispute Resolution Institute and the Mediation Center, 6.0 hours, October 30, 1996.
  • "Advanced Mediation Issues and Techniques," presented by the Hamline University School of Law Dispute Resolution Institute and the Mediation Center, 6.0 hours, June 30, 1997.
  • “The First Annual ADR Institute,” presented by MCLE, 6.0 hours, November 6, 1998.
  • “The Second Annual ADR Institute,” also known as “The 1999 ADR Institute,” presented by MCLE, 6.75 hours, November 8, 1999.
  • “Ethics for Mediators and Attorneys involved in Mediation,” presented by MCLE, 3.0 hours, May 9, 2000.
  • An “Advanced Mediator Training” program titled “Enhancing Settlement Techniques,” presented by U.S. Arbitration & Mediation of Minnesota, 6.0 hours, May 18, 2000.
  • The Spring Conference of the Minnesota Association of Conflict Resolution (MN ACR), 3.5 hours, May 31, 2001.
  • An “Advanced Mediator Training” program titled “For the Experienced Mediator,” presented by U.S. Arbitration & Mediation of Minnesota, 6.0 hours, November 8, 2001.
  • The “5th Annual ADR Institute,” presented by MCLE, 5.0 hours, November 19, 2002.
  • “The 6th Annual ADR Institute,” presented by Minnesota Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), the education division of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), 6.0 hours, October 24, 2003.
  • “The New No-Fault Arbitrator Qualifications Seminar,” presented by the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA), 3.0 hours, November 7, 2003.
  • “Family Mediation” presented by the Hamline University School of Law Dispute Resolution Institute, 40 hours, July 18-20 and July 22-23, 2005.