Board Certified in City, County, and Local Government Law, and a Florida Supreme Court County/Circuit Civil Mediator, Jennie began her legal career working with her father in the areas of civil and criminal litigation. Thereafter, she joined the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, where she practiced for over 35 years and served as a Chief Assistant of the Countywide Services and Litigation Division for the majority of her career, having responsibility for litigation, eminent domain, social services, and indigent health care.
With respect to her indigent health care work, Jennie traveled to Tallahassee with the County Administrator to assist with lobbying efforts on behalf of the quarter cent indigent health care surtax. Most recently, she served as the Chief Assistant for the Employment and Regulatory Division of the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, and she was part of team providing labor and employment advice to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, the County Administrator, and all of the departments and agencies under the County Administrator, which encompassed approximately 5,000 employees in Florida’s fourth largest county. Jennie provided legal advice and supervision on topics, such as:
- Hiring
- Terminations
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Sexual harassment and discrimination
- All union matters
In addition, Jennie was responsible for providing legal advice in regulatory areas, such as emergency management, to the Public Transportation Commission, animal services, child care licensing, fire rescue, and code enforcement. Jennie served as legal counsel for the Hillsborough County Diversity Advisory Council, the Law Library Advisors, CareerSource Tampa Bay, and the Hillsborough County Hospital Authority, a dependent special district, which is the landlord for Tampa General, Hillsborough County’s largest hospital.
On the labor and employment side of Jennie’s practice, she was responsible for high-level employment contracts for County officials, including the County Administrator, Environmental Protection Commission Executive Director, and the Internal Auditor. In this role, Jennie provided direct advice and negotiation assistance to the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners.
Jennie has been an officer and served several terms on the Board of Directors for the Hillsborough County Bar Association and the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, where she chaired the Government Section, co-chaired the Judicial Liaison Committee, and co-chaired the 1st Annual Bench Bar Conference. Committed to serving the legal community, Jennie also chaired a Florida Bar Grievance Committee and was appointed to the first Peer Review Committee. She is a Master at the J. Clifford Cheatwood American Inn of Court and has been designated by the Chief Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit to serve on the 13th Circuit Local Professional Panel (LPP), which has been created pursuant to an Order of the Florida Supreme Court. The overall function of the members of the LPP is to serve on three-member panels to hear, act upon, and resolve matters of unprofessional conduct by lawyers.
Outside the office, Jennie and her husband Rob are avid sports enthusiasts supporting the Florida Gators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Media Appearances