Pennington's Chad Dunn elected to Executive Council of Administrative Law Section of the Florida Bar

Pennington P.A. recently attended the 44 th Annual FSHRM&PS Conference in Tampa, Florida, and the firm was represented by partners Mike Thomas, Chase Boswell, Cody Short, associates Chris Hill, Logan Eagen, Geoffrey Place, and Nurse-Paralegal, Nena Hester. Pennington P.A. is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor for consecutive years of the Annual Meeting & Education Conference, which was attended by over 350 risk managers, nurses, and insurance representatives. Cody Short presented a legislative update on Amendment VII and the Federal PSQIA, which provided attendees with insight into the past, present and future state of the law. As a state-wide professional development association comprised of risk management and patient safety professionals, Pennington P.A. acknowledges the Association’s value and contribution in the healthcare industry, and the firm was pleased to participate in another annual conference.

Pennington P.A. proudly recognizes 5 attorneys that are recognized in 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America®. #floridalawyers #tallahassee #tampa #pennington #penningtonpa #penningtonlaw #administrativelaw #realestatelaw #healthcarelaw #intellectualproperty #commerciallitigation #medicalmalpracticelaw #personalinjurylitigation #bestlawyers #onestowatch

Pennington P.A. proudly recognizes 10 attorneys that are recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Edition. #floridalawyers #tallahassee #tampa #pennington #penningtonpa #penningtonlaw #administrativelaw #realestatelaw #healthcarelaw #intellectualproperty #commerciallitigation #medicalmalpracticelaw #personalinjurylitigation #bestlawyers

Associates Chris Hill and Geoffrey Place recently had the pleasure of attending the Capital Medical Society Alliance Spring Festival Fundraiser: An Evening Benefiting the Refuge House, hosted at Proof Brewing Company. As a proud sponsor of the Capital Medical Society Alliance, Pennington, P.A., prioritizes engagement and charity in the Tallahassee Community. Chris and Geoffrey spoke on behalf of the Pennington law firm and visited with other sponsors of the Capital Medical Society Alliance. Pennington, P.A., continues to proudly support the Tallahassee community, and the many organizations which seek to improve the lives of its citizens. Included in the photo (from left to right) are Chris Hill and his spouse, Morgan Hill, Michelle Reyes, Louisa Sellinger, and Geoffrey Place and his spouse, Sarah Reid Place.  Christopher L. Hill’s practice focuses on insurance defense and litigation, including medical/dental malpractice, bodily injury and under/uninsured motorist claims, auto/trucking litigation, Personal Injury Protection claims, and commercial litigation, as well as commercial Landlord-Tenant law. Christopher is licensed to practice law in Florida and has been admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. Geoffrey Place’s practice focuses on insurance defense litigation, including medical/dental malpractice, product liability, premises liability, and commercial litigation. He also practices in the appellate courts of Florida, assisting with drafting briefs and presenting oral argument in various practice areas. Geoffrey is licensed to practice in the state of Florida.

Shareholder Cody Short, Partner Leean Chojnowski, and Associate Jennifer Bagby represented Pennington at the 61st LeadingAge Southeast Annual Convention & Exposition in Orlando, Florida July 15-17. Established in 1963 as a Florida not-for-profit corporation, LeadingAge Southeast provides education and advocacy resources for more than 250 senior living facilities in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Pennington is proud to be a business member of LeadingAge. Our attorneys provide legal services for all stages of senior living development and operations including regulatory compliance, business formation, licensing, government affairs, acquisitions, and litigation representation. Pennington assists senior living providers with contract drafting, negotiation, revision, and non-payment enforcement.

Pennington PA partner Chad Dunn recently spoke at the 2024 Society of Robotic Surgery annual meeting. Chad participated in a panel with several distinguished robotic surgeons, professors, and a representative of the FDA, discussing how telehealth laws and regulatory frameworks will impact telesurgery. Telesurgery is an emerging, groundbreaking method that allows surgeons to perform procedures remotely over great distances with the aid of robotics and advanced telecommunications. One such procedure was done between Rome and Beijing! This innovation promises to increase access to specialized surgical care, especially in underserved and remote areas. Based on ongoing successful trials across the world, it appears that telesurgery is on the horizon. However, the diversity of state laws in the U.S. raise significant hurdles to telesurgery. The medical community is also wrestling with significant legal and ethical questions, such as maintaining physician-patient relationships, liability, and data privacy. Chad Dunn’s practice focuses on civil defense litigation, healthcare law, and all aspects of administrative law, including professional licensing issues, rule challenges, and public procurement.

Recently, Pennington Shareholder, Cody Short, and Associate, Geoffrey Place, appeared before the Florida First District Court of Appeal to present oral argument on a recent case involving alleged negligent security at a Tallahassee business. In the case at issue, an employee of the business was kidnapped during her lunch break from the parking lot by a man who initially intended to kidnap his former partner, but kidnapped the employee when he could not locate his initial target. The man ultimately sexually assaulted the employee, and, tragically murdered her, leaving her in a car to be found by the authorities. The Employee’s estate brought suit against the business and the property manager alleging negligent security on the property. At the lower court, the Pennington Team successfully argued that the defendant had no notice of any safety concern at the property, and summary judgment was awarded in the defendants’ favor. After an appeal was filed, Pennington’s Appellate team, again, successfully argued that the defendant had no notice of any safety concern regarding the man and, thus, had no duty to protect against this unforeseeable action of a third party. Following oral argument, the First District Court of Appeal issued a Per Curiam Affirmance of the lower court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The Pennington Team is proud to have obtained another favorable decision for one of its clients.

On April 26, 2024 Pennington Associate, Rachel Givens, attended Chamber of Commerce’s Access Tallahassee Summit. It was a wonderful event, directed at Tallahassee young professionals, and we were pleased to have Rachel attend as Pennington’s Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce Liaison.

Earlier this month, our firm enjoyed a special lunchtime visit from our friends at TMH Animal Therapy, where we were able to learn about the many ways they serve our community! We had the pleasure of meeting “Dogtor Ferdinand” and “Dogtor Oona”, as well as Stephanie Perkins and Heather VanLiere, who stay extremely busy in the Big Bend assisting over 80 different facilities with medical rehabilitation, senior services, courthouse therapy and reading education. TMH Animal Therapy has over 200 handler-animal teams and provides an immeasurable benefit for both physical and mental health in our community. We learned from Stephanie that animals are proven to help lower blood pressure, lower heart rate and lower stress hormones, while simultaneously increasing sociability, motivation and all the feel-good hormones! We are looking forward to working with them in the future!