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Robert W. Schmidt Law Firm, PLLC: The Nation’s Number 1 Pregnancy Discrimination Verdict of 2022

Independent verdict-tracking site TopVerdicts.com ranked Bob Schmidt’s 2022 result in Nikolova v. University of Texas at Austin as the number one gender/pregnancy discrimination verdict in Texas and the number one pregnancy discrimination verdict in the entire United States that year — a ranking from a third-party source, not a claim resting solely on the firm’s own marketing.

At a Glance: Austin Employment Lawyer Firm Overview

I. Two Decades at Other Firms, Then His Own Practice in 2022

Bob Schmidt earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and began his career at Locke Purnell Rain Harrell (now Locke Lord) in Dallas, then worked for the Texas Legislative Council, the Texas Attorney General’s office, the Texas Ethics Commission, and Crews Law Firm before spending two decades representing Austin-area employees and forming his own firm in 2022. He is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College, a selective, intensive trial-advocacy program specifically for attorneys who represent individuals rather than corporations.

II. No Board Certification Identified; Twenty Years of Trial Practice Instead

Awesome Attorneys did not find a current Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification for Schmidt, and does not use “specialist” language for this firm as a result. His credential is two decades of trial practice culminating in an independently ranked, top-tier verdict, plus sustained leadership roles inside the plaintiff’s employment bar.

III. Practice Concentration: What This Austin Employment Attorney Firm Handles

Schmidt represents survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and employees facing discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination, across a client base the firm describes as ranging “from corporate executives, public employees, and people simply trying to make a living.” He has tried employment cases to verdict in both Texas state and federal court.

IV. Track Record

Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Employment settlements are frequently confidential, which limits what any firm can publish about individual case values. The verdicts below are independently confirmed through TopVerdicts.com’s third-party rankings, not solely the firm’s own account.

Both verdicts above are confirmed through TopVerdicts.com, an independent verdict-tracking publication, rather than resting solely on the firm’s own characterization — a stronger evidentiary basis than most track-record claims in this category.

V. Client Voice

Reviews on Avvo are largely positive. One client wrote: “From start to finish Bob was professional and empathetic to my situation… he was extremely responsive when needed and kept me up to date with any proceedings or developments.” Not every review is favorable: a 2013 Avvo review titled criticizing Schmidt for declining to take a case against “a very big employer or institution” describes the reviewer’s frustration at the firm’s case-selection decision. Schmidt responded directly and professionally on the platform: “I fight against big and powerful employers every day and care about my clients very much… I can’t take every case and unfortunately employment laws do not protect employees in many situations.” Awesome Attorneys is including this exchange because a directory that only shows favorable reviews isn’t giving readers the full picture, and because Schmidt’s public response to criticism is itself informative.

VI. Beyond the Courtroom

Schmidt sits on the Board of Directors of the National Employment Lawyers Association, is a former chairperson and current member of the Austin Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, and is a former board member and current Legislative Committee co-chair of the Texas Employment Lawyers Association. He is a member of the Texas Bar College and regularly speaks at continuing legal education seminars, including authoring and presenting “Introduction to Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Claims” for the State Bar of Texas Employment Law seminar series.

VII. Recognition

Peer-reviewed and independently conferred credentials: Super Lawyers selection in employee-side employment litigation every year since 2014 (11+ years), via Thomson Reuters’ peer-review process; AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the service’s highest peer-rating tier; TopVerdicts.com’s independent 2022 and 2011 verdict rankings described above.

Marketing-program recognition, distinguished here rather than blended in: Austin Monthly Magazine’s listing of Austin’s best employment law attorneys.

VIII. The Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas is an at-will employment state, with discrimination and retaliation claims running through Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA federally and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (Texas Labor Code Chapter 21) at the state level, requiring a Texas Workforce Commission charge within 180 days. Claims against state universities and agencies, like the Nikolova matter against UT Austin, can involve additional sovereign immunity considerations and procedural requirements distinct from private-employer litigation. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and, since 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act provide overlapping protections specifically relevant to Schmidt’s practice area.

IX. Awesome Attorneys Assessment: Weighing This Austin Employment Lawyer

This firm’s clearest strength is a verdict record independently verified by a third party, not just claimed by the firm — the #1 national pregnancy discrimination verdict ranking for 2022 is a genuinely rare, checkable credential in this category. Combined with 20+ years of practice, sustained leadership roles in NELA, the Austin Bar, and TELA, and Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College training, Schmidt’s professional record is unusually well-documented for a solo practice.

The fair caveat: the 2013 negative review, while a single incident from over a decade ago, reflects a real case-selection frustration from a prospective client, and Schmidt’s own response confirms he does decline cases he judges unlikely to succeed — worth knowing going into a consultation. As a newer standalone firm (founded 2022, though built on decades of prior practice), its own independent case history is still developing under this specific entity name.

X. Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was compiled from the firm’s own website (texasemploymentjustice.com), including its About page; Super Lawyers’ peer-review attorney profile, including its TopVerdicts.com-sourced verdict rankings; Avvo’s attorney profile and client reviews, including the firm’s own public response to a critical review; and LinkedIn. Case results are independently confirmed through TopVerdicts.com where indicated; other claims are the firm’s own published statements, attributed as such. Statutory citations were checked against the Texas Labor Code. No case results, credentials, or quotes were invented.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Robert W. Schmidt Law Firm, PLLC prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placements clearly labeled as such, but no payment of any kind determines inclusion in, or the content of, this editorial profile. This article is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Robert W. Schmidt Law Firm, PLLC or Awesome Attorneys.