Harris Penn & Lowry New Law Firm - Partners specialize in civil litigation

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Jeff Harris Featured in "Daily Report" Article

Savannah lawyers Jeff Harris and Steve Lowry and Atlanta lawyer Darren Penn recently formed Harris Penn & Lowry LLP.

The new law firm specializes in trial practice and has offices in Atlanta and Savannah. The partners have handled cases involving product defects, business disputes and catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death claims.

The firm has taken on some high profile cases, including representing the family of the slain court reporter at the Folsom County Courthouse last year. The firm also represents the family of Lisa Lopez from the pop group TLC who was killed in an SUV rollover in Honduras.

Before forming the new firm, Harris and Penn practiced at an Atlanta trial firm and Lowry practiced with a Savannah firm.

“We decided to start our own firm because we felt we could serve a niche that wasn’t necessarily being served by other firms,” Harris said. “Our focus is on using cutting edge technology to prepare every case for trial to a jury.”

Many firms have expertise in drafting legal documents or preparing a case with a focus on settlement but very few firms “focus intently on putting a case together with an eye toward how the case will be presented to lay people on a jury.” interjected Lowry.

“What really enhances the value of a case is if the other side knows that you are prepared and willing to go to trial,” Harris said.

Harris most recently managed the Savannah office of Scherffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres. He spearheaded the firm’s product liability section and handled cases about defectively designed vehicles. Harris was co-trial counsel in the firm’s $48 million verdict against the Ford Motor Co. in Sasser v. Ford in 2004, the largest product liability in Georgia history upheld on appeal. He also recently served as co-lead counsel in a medical malpractice case resulting in a $3.5 million verdict in DeKalb County.

Harris graduated at the top of his class from Mercer Law School in Atlanta. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA in finance from the Mercer Business School.

Harris recently was recognized by Atlanta Magazine as a Rising Star Super Lawyer. Penn began his career in 1994 as a trial lawyer for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. While at State Farm, Penn handled more than 100 trials as lead counsel in cases involving automobile accidents, premises liability, intentional torts, fire claims, theft claims, homeowner’s claims, insurance bad faith, and coverage disputes.

After leaving State Farm in 1997, Penn co-founded Penn & Pate LLP where he represented plaintiffs in a wide variety of personal injury and business tort trials. In 2000, Penn merged his firm with Scherffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres LLP.

Penn received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia.

Lowry began his legal career in Atlanta working with the late Joe Freeman, mostly for insurance companies and large corporations. After moving to Savannah, Lowry joined Middleton, Mathis, Adams & Tate and focused on litigation involving defective products, serious injury claims, class actions and insurance litigation. He was part of a team of lawyers that represented World War II prisoners of was that were used as slave labor by various Japanese corporations.

Lowry left the Middleton firm with two partners who started Carter & Tate, P.C. where he was involved in numerous automotive defect suits.

Lowry graduated cum laude from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Lowry received dual undergraduate degrees in History and Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.