Darren W. Penn Atlanta, Georgia
| phone | (404) 961-7650 |
| fax | (912) 651-1276 |
| Email Me | |
Darren Penn handles a wide variety of tort and business litigation in state and federal courts across the United States. His practice ranges from extensive products liability, trucking and auto wreck, construction, wrongful death, medical malpractice and aviation trials to business tort, entertainment and intellectual property cases.
Darren began his career in 1994 as a trial lawyer for State Farm Insurance Company, the largest auto, property and casualty insurer in the world. He handled cases involving automobile accidents, premises liability, intentional torts, fire claims, theft claims, homeowner's claims, insurance bad faith, and coverage disputes. While at State Farm, he handled well over a hundred trials as lead counsel.
After leaving State Farm in 1997, Darren was a founding member of Penn & Pate LLP where he built a successful trial practice exclusively representing plaintiffs in a wide variety of personal injury and business tort trials. His extensive experience with the insurance industry was pivotal in the development of a highly successful practice, and, in 2000, Darren merged his practice into Scherffius, Ballard Still & Ayres LLP. After five great years with that firm, Darren and partners Jeff Harris and Steve Lowry formed Harris Penn & Lowry, LLP to continue their focus on high end products liability, aviation, catastrophic injury, and business tort trials.
Darren is involved in numerous products liability cases including automotive products liability claims arising from seatback failures, defective seat belts, defective door and seat latches, vehicle fires, vehicle rollovers, and other defects. He is a member of organizations that focus exclusively on handling products liability litigation. In addition to products liability, Darren has continued to handle catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving other defective products, construction incidents, automobile and truck wrecks, medical malpractice, and plane crashes as well as a few select cases involving business torts, sports and entertainment disputes and copyright and patent infringement.
Darren received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia. He served as Executive Articles Editor of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and participated in the Moot Court. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Lawyers Club of Atlanta, American Association for Justice, American Bar Association, Southern Trial Lawyers Association, AIEG, and Gridiron. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is a frequent speaker at CLE seminars on topics related to trial tactics, products liability, insurance, subrogation and liens. In 2008, he was the Chair of the Civil Justice PAC of Georgia and remains on the Board. He is a member of the board of the General Practice and Trial Section of the Georgia Bar, Chair of the GTLA Legislative Committee and a member of the GTLA Executive Committee.
- Areas of Practice:
- Product Liability
- Trucking and Auto Wrecks
- Catastrophic Injury
- Wrongful Death
- Serious Personal Injury
- Medical Malpractice
- Aviation
- Insurance Disputes
- Toxic Torts
- Pharmaceutical Products
- Bar Admissions:
- Georgia, 1994
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1994
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia, 1997
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia, 2003
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1994
- Education:
- University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, Georgia,
1994
J.D.
Law Journal: Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Executive Articles Editor, 1993 - 1994
Law Journal: Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Editorial Board, 1992 - 1993 - University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA,
1990
B.S.
Honors: Dean's List
Major: Political Science
- Published Works:
- Insurer's Alternatives to Declaratory Judgment Actions: Interpretation, Interpleading and Defense and Indemnity Agreements, 24 The Brief 22 (ABA), 1995
- Articles on the subjects of workers' compensation and other liens, insurance coverage litigation, and automotive litigation issues, The Defense Brief - published by State Farm, 1994-1997
- Classes/Seminars Taught:
- Automotive Torts Seminar, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2005 - 2009
- Brake-Shift Interlock Defects, AIEG, 2005
- Rear Seat Back Latches, AIEG, 2004
- Tricks of the Trade: Common "Tricks" of Insurers and Medical Providers, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2004
- Uninsured Motorist Law: Service of Process and the Statute of Limitations, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2002
- Uninsured Motorist Law: Issues Relating to Available Policy Limits, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2002
- Classes and seminars on the subjects of worker's compensation and other liens, insurance coverage litigation, slip and fall litigation, and automobile litigation, State Farm, 1994 - 1997
- Holiday Seminar, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, December 12, 2008
- Using Technology in the Courtroom, Trial Practice ICLE, November 7, 2008
- Evidence Seminar, 2008
- Holiday Seminar - Brake-shift Interlock, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
- Professional Associations and Memberships:
- State Bar of Georgia
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Lawyers Club of Atlanta
- Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America
- Southern Trial Lawyers Association
- Attorney Information Exchange Group
- GTLA Amicus Committee and Communications Committee
- Member
- GTLA Legislative Committee
- Co-Chair
- Civil Justice PAC
- Chairman of the Board
- Gridiron
- Past Employment Positions:
- Scherffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres, LLP, Member, 2000 - 2005
- Penn, Pate & Regas, Partner, 2000
- Penn & Pate, LLP, Partner, 1997 - 2000
- State Farm Insurance Companies, Claims Litigation Counsel, 1994 - 1997












