Defense Digest

On The Pulse: TAMPA, FLORIDA OFFICE PROFILE

In the mid-1980s, the mayor of Tampa, Florida, Sandy Freedman, called Tampa "America's Next Great City."  To a town best known as a winter vacation destination, this was good news.  Everyone eagerly anticipated unprecedented growth and prosperity in the next decade. Unfortunately, the success and growth of the city did not meet expectations as quickly as predicted, due to a recession and the Gulf War in the early 1990s.  Oh, the City continued to grow; however, I think that the mayor envisioned growth on a more grand scale and at a much quicker pace.

Lately, Tampa has been in the news, not so much for its business growth, but for its sporting accomplishments. A Super Bowl in 2003 and a Stanley Cup Championship in 2004 have made a national audience aware of this little city on the west coast of Florida. Although the residents have welcomed and enjoyed the national attention, I do not think that this was what Mayor Freedman had envisioned when she made her bold prediction.

Regardless of the scale and scope of growth, Tampa has shown impressive growth numbers. The City's population has grown significantly since the mid-1980s. Tampa is now the largest city on the west coast of Florida. The Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which includes St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tampa, boasts a population of approximately 1.5 million people.  While the area has been jokingly referred to as "God's waiting room" in the past, Tampa is actually a young, vibrant city on the verge of greatness.

In 2000, Marshall Dennehey decided that Tampa would be the site of its first office in the state of Florida. Since that time, this office has grown to eight attorneys and one paralegal.   The firm has followed with the opening of its Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, and Jacksonville offices.  At the present time, Marshall Dennehey has four offices in Florida with 27 attorneys covering the entire state of Florida. 

Tampa, which is located centrally on the west coast of Florida, provides an excellent location that enables its attorneys to cover legal matters as far south as Naples on the west coast to as far northwest as Pensacola.   The attorneys in this office have significant experience in handling professional liability, commercial, and casualty matters.  They have significant experience in defending class action litigation, including cases involving legal malpractice, mold and toxic tort exposure, fair debt, and other consumer protection matters. 

Over the past few years, Florida has had a significant amount of high-verdict judgments in nursing home and medical malpractice litigation.  Because of this, a number of the defense firms throughout the state have divided their practice to include both defense and plaintiff work.  In keeping with the firm's mandate, this office is devoted entirely to the practice of defense litigation.

The Tampa office has a number of outstanding lawyers who are from diverse backgrounds. Michael McGirney, the managing shareholder of the office, who is originally from Philadelphia, brings significant insurance claims experience to the firm. Mike spent 12 years handling claims for various casualty and professional liability insurance carriers before starting the practice of law. Dale Golden, a shareholder, is from Wisconsin and was a sportscaster in Iowa before he started practicing law.  Dale is a nationally known expert in areas of fair debt and consumer protection statutes.  Ed Gagain, another shareholder and former University of Delaware football player, is the head of the Tampa casualty group. Although we give him a hard time about being a Blue Hen, we have come to respect his legal acumen. He has been successful in trying a number of matters since the office opened.  Mike, Dale, and Ed have been with the office since it opened in 2000.

Brad Goewert joined the office and provides significant trial experience in medical malpractice and casualty cases.  Jeff Albinson, who recently joined the firm, was the President of Raincross Insurance, a statewide Florida professional liability insurance brokerage. Mindy Miller, a Tampa native who is involved in the handling of professional liability and bad faith cases, worked for a plaintiff bad faith law firm prior to joining Marshall Dennehey.  Michael Archibald worked as a public defender before joining the firm and has significant trial experience.  Jaime Girgenti, who is also a Tampa native, recently joined the firm after clerking for a judge in Minnesota.

It is this diverse background that the attorneys in this office provide a unique perspective in handling a wide variety of matters and providing a wide range of services to their clients. The attorneys in the Tampa office of Marshall Dennehey are excited about working for the first office that the firm opened in Florida.   They stand ready, willing, and able to assist all of the firm's clients in any matter in the state of Florida. 

If you have any questions about the office, you should feel free to contact Michael McGirney at (813) 472-7801 or via e-mail at mmcgirney@mdwcg.com.