Jillian L. Dinehart

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    Jillian defends corporate and individual insureds in product liability, construction, and other premises liability and personal injury claims.  She also works extensively in the Professional Liability Department where her experiences includes, but is not limited to, defending municipalities and their employees in high-risk contract and tort matters, including wrongful death actions, labor and employment issues, and allegations of civil rights violations.  She has practiced in both the state and federal system and has argued before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Jillian grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York and graduated from SUNY Albany with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and concentrations in Spanish and Arabic Language studies. She went on to receive her juris doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where she began her litigation career as an award-winning student in the Criminal Defense Clinic.  Before joining Marshall Dennehey in 2017, Jillian had a varied civil practice working as a judicial staff attorney as well as an assistant director of law.  She continues to use those public-sector skills in advocating for her political subdivision clients.

    Outside of the office you are likely to find Jillian anywhere music can be found or walking her dogs through the Cleveland MetroParks.
     

    Significant Representative Matters

    In 2023, Jillian went to trial in a motor-vehicle accident case in which she represented a driver that had died while the case was pending.  There was also a large, financially successful, corporate co-defendant represented by other counsel.  The plaintiff had sustained a broken arm in the accident that was surgically repaired.  Jillian’s client had admitted liability, so the case was solely to be heard on the value of the injury, and the liability of the corporate co-defendant.  Likely counting on the deep pockets of the co-defendant, the Plaintiff’s pre-suit demand was not rationally related to the injury or in the realm of similar verdicts in the region.  During the first day of trial, Jillian formed a clear rapport with the jury panel, often engaging in friendly banter with the potential jurors about their own experiences in car accidents, injuries similar to the plaintiff’s, and the social impact of surgical scars.  This rapport was in direct contrast to a very dry voir dire by plaintiff’s counsel and was bolstered by a similarly friendly voir dire by the co-defendant’s counsel.  The parties completed their opening statements and returned to court in the morning, at which time the plaintiff asked to engage in settlement discussions.  As a result of Jillian’s trial performance, the case settlement for $1.5 Million less than the plaintiff’s demand the day before trial.

    Classes/Seminars Taught

    Ohio Personal Injury Litigation: Secrets Only the Top Attorneys Know, National Business Institute (NBI) Webinar, December 15, 2022

    Political Subdivision Tort Liability, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, August 2015

    Published Works

    "Understanding Municipalities' Rights and Liabilities in Weapons and Ordnance Legislation," Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal (page 18), December 2022

    “Transferring a Plaintiff’s Burden to the Court: In-Camera Inspections Are a Necessary Burden for Most Courts in Ohio,” Defense Digest, Vol. 27, No. 5, December 2021

    Pro Bono Activities

    Brief Advice Clinic with Legal Aid Society of Greater Cleveland, 2009

    Immigration Clinic with Catholic Charities, 2009

    AmeriCorps Service Member benefitting Legal Aid of Western New York, 2009

    Admissions
    Ohio
    2010
    U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio
    2014
    Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
    2015
    Education
    Case Western Reserve University School of Law (J.D., 2010)
    State University of New York at Albany (B.A., magna cum laude, 2006)
    Honors & awards
    The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch®, Health Care Law
    2023
    The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch©, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
    2024
    Associations & memberships
    American Bar Association
    Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
    Year joined
    2017