Jim is the managing attorney and Casualty Supervisor for the Jacksonville office. In this capacity, Jim oversees a team of experienced attorneys handling corporate, commercial and civil litigation matters including workers’ compensation across Northern Florida.
Jim transferred to the Jacksonville office in 2012 after a 23-year career defending manufacturers, hospitals, trucking and transportation carriers, retail establishments and construction professionals throughout Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Jim is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer and has taken over 150 civil jury trials to verdict since 1989.
In Florida, Jim has put his broad based experience to work by assuming the statewide supervision of matters for key clients in a wide range of cases including products liability, trucking and transportation, commercial premises liability and construction related injuries. Jim continues to handle significant and catastrophic injury cases involving automobile and general liability claims with an emphasis on the defense of brain injury claims. He is also experienced in representing health care professionals in medical malpractice claims. Jim has also expanded his practice to include representing condominium and homeowners associations as well as representing employers in matters involving ADA, FLSA/Wage & Hour, and Title VII before the EEOC and the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
Jim maintains a Martindale-Hubbell rating of AV Preeminent , the highest rating for professional competence and was recognized in 2010 as a Super Lawyer. He is board certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar. Jim is licensed to practice in all state and federal District Courts of Florida.
Honors & awards
AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
The Best Lawyers in America , Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
2021-2026
Florida Trend's Legal Elite - Civil Trial
2022
Ohio Super Lawyer
2010
Year joined
2006
Certifications
Board Certified Specialist, Civil Trial Law, The Florida Bar
Results
Summary Judgment Secured in a Contentious Coverage Matter
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
September 12, 2025
We were granted summary judgment in a coverage matter. The plaintiff was seeking UM benefits for a policy he had on a car he owned for an accident that occurred when he was operating a motorcycle he owned, but did not insure. The court confirmed that the policy excluded underinsured motorist coverage for the plaintiff’s motorcycle. The issue was that the definition of “motor vehicle” for the other owned motor vehicle exclusion was not specifically provided in the policy.
Directed Verdict Secured in a High-Exposure Defamation Lawsuit in Florida
Public Entity & Civil Rights Litigation
July 1, 2024
We obtained a directed verdict in favor of our client in a high-risk defamation lawsuit. We were called to try the case on behalf of the CEO of a local chapter of a well-known national nonprofit after the plaintiff was permitted to amend the complaint to seek punitive damages from the CEO personally. The plaintiff was a volunteer at a camp. A decision was made to separate him from the camp and the organization. The plaintiff alleged that the CEO personally defamed him by alerting other volunteers and committees of the decision. He demanded an eight-figure sum prior to trial.
Directed Verdict in Favor of Our Client in a High-Exposure and High-Risk Defamation Lawsuit
Non-Profit D&O
April 23, 2024
We secured a directed verdict in favor of our client in a high-exposure and high-risk defamation lawsuit. We were called to try the case on behalf of the CEO of a local chapter of a well-known national non-profit after the plaintiff was permitted to amend the complaint to seek punitive damages from the CEO personally. When we received the case, the trial was set to begin in four weeks.
Summary judgment in wrongful death, negligent security case involving the shooting of a 16-year-old.
Premises & Retail Liability
April 22, 2022
The plaintiff’s decedent was shot and killed while allegedly on his way home from school. We were able to prove that the young man was a trespasser on the common area of the property where he was shot, even though his aunt was a tenant in the apartment complex. The decedent’s family claimed he was on his way to see her. Our investigation revealed that he was connected to local gangs and that, at the time of his shooting, he was wearing a ski mask (in Florida) and carrying a hand gun.
Thought Leadership
On the Pulse...Jacksonville Office Expands and Leads Litigation Practice in Northern Florida
Jacksonville
September 1, 2025
In 2024, the Jacksonville, Florida office celebrated our 20th year by moving to beautiful, new office space. We remain a presence in downtown Jacksonville and continue to cement our position as a premier litigation practice in Northern Florida. Defense Digest, Vol. 31, No.
98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
August 20, 2025
Marshall Dennehey is proud to highlight the firm’s 98 attorneys who have been recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Less than 6% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S.
James P. Hanratty Admitted to Membership of the International Association of Defense Counsel
Catastrophic Claims Litigation
May 12, 2025
James P.
Two Marshall Dennehey Office Managing Attorneys Recognized as Florida Trend Legal Elite Notable Managing Partners
July 10, 2024
Marshall Dennehey is pleased to announce that Michael G.
On the Pulse...Our Jacksonville Office
Jacksonville
March 1, 2021
Marshall Dennehey has been an active part of the Jacksonville legal community since 2004. Defense Digest, Vol. 27, No.
Classes/Seminars Taught
Top 5 Challenges Relative to Workers' Compensation Claims, Property and Casualty Claims and For Mediators, FCCI Educational Conference, October 2018
Defending Catastrophic Injury Claims - How to Stack the Deck in Your Favor, Marshall Dennehey Florida Claims Symposium - Casino Royale, Tampa, FL, September 20, 2018
"Courtroom Warriors" Present: Trying Your Case To A Defense Verdict; "Opening Statements; Making A Good First Impression," Cleveland Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, August 2008
Use, Selection of Expert Witnesses , Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, 2003
Insurance Relations Round Table , Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, 2003
Defense of Wrongful Death Case , Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, 2002
Law Office Management , University of Akron, 1992, 1995
Insurance Seminar , Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992
Media Commentary
"Delivery Driver Crime: The Restaurant Industry Problem Nobody Talks About," QSRweb and Pizza Marketplace, September 7, 2018
