Mark Pennington | West Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer

Mark S. Pennington

Mark S. Pennington has been an attorney since 1975. Mr. Pennington developed his trial experience as an Assistant Polk County Attorney prosecuting nearly 100 jury trials including criminal charges with penalties of life imprisonment as well as serious sex abuse charges. Mr. Pennington left the prosecutor's office to enter private practice in 1979.

Mr. Pennington's private practice is restricted to the representation of people who have sustained personal injury through negligence and/or medical malpractice. Although he may handle perhaps one high-profile criminal case a year, the other 99 percent is limited to this area which allows him to specialize for the benefit of his clients. Mr. Pennington will not represent corporate defendants. Mr. Pennington has obtained significant verdicts in personal injury/medical negligence including several verdicts in excess of 1 million dollars.

Due to his experience and expertise, Mr. Pennington has been a trial consultant for all three network affiliates in the Central Iowa area. Mr. Pennington provides insight and commentary concerning legal issues in noteworthy trials.

In addition to his busy practice, he shares his personal injury law experience with colleagues through lecture in continuing legal education seminars. Mr. Pennington belongs to several professional organizations, including the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, the Iowa State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He also has passed the California Bar and is a member of good standing in that state.

Lawyer.com Member Questionnaire

Please describe a case(s) in the last year or two where you made a big difference.
We successfully settled a seven-figure case where a teenage girl aspiring to be a model was hit by a car that went over a parking barrier, down a hill and struck our her. There were several insurances involved and we settled for the limits on each. Catastrophic damages were physical as well as mental and included PTSD as well as scarring and disfigurement and broken bones.

How did you build a successful practice?
Customer service. Treating our clients like we would want to be treated. Never neglecting a case, working them up with the proper experts and anecdotal and fact witnesses and keeping our clients and the defense informed.

What should clients look for in a lawyer?
Clients need someone who cares about their case as if it were the lawyers own family. Many clients end up being very close friends. Of course, reputation and ability and willingness to try the case well also plays a key role.

How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases?
As a lawyer you need to know the jury and how they think to prosecute an injury case successfully.

What information do you need in a free phone consultation?
How the injury occurred, potential witnesses and treatment plan, as well as meeting time and plan going forward. Also, their life situation and all affected people.

What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community?
Work ethic, customer service and ability to work up and try cases. How has the case actually affected the injured parties and their loved ones.

• California State Bar Association | Member
  Iowa State Bar Association | Member

Mark S. Pennington has been a Premium Member since December 19, 2019.
Lawyers with longer memberships tend to have more experience so we use the Membership date to help prioritize lawyer listings on search pages.

Above credentials have been verified independently by Lawyer.com.

As a service to our visitors and members, Lawyer.com displays the credentials for Premium Lawyer Profiles which Lawyer.com has independently verified. These are displayed at the at the 'Verified Credentials' table. Lawyer.com independently verifies these credentials when a lawyer signs up for a Premium Lawyer Profile. Each Premium Profile lawyer also certifies that they are licensed to practice as an attorney in their state, that they are in good standing with their applicable bar, and that they will notify Lawyer.com if this changes while they have an active profile.

• Avvo | Mark Pennington
• Mark Pennington