Penn Dawson

Visiting Assistant Professor of Law

University of Florida School of Law, Gainesville, Florida Juris Doctor, 1987 with Honors

Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Master of Arts (Philosophy), 2013

Regis College of the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Bachelor of Theology and Master of Divinity, 2018 with Highest Honors

University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Bachelor of Arts (History), 1984

WORK EXPERIENCE:

Member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) Roman Catholic Religious Order
Entered Novitiate, 15 August 2009 Professed First Vows, 13 August 2011 Ordained Transitional Deacon, 20 May 2017 Ordained Priest, 09 June 2018
Rector
New Orleans Jesuit Community New Orleans, LA
(01 July 2024-Present)
Assistant Professor of Law
Loyola University New Orleans School of Law New Orleans, LA
(12 August 2019-Present)
Shareholder/Partner
Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen Tampa, Florida
(Associate, May 1991-December 1995) (Shareholder, December 1995-May 2009)
Parochial Vicar
Saint Peter Claver Parish
Post Office Box 25
Punta Gorda, Toledo District Belize, Central America
(1 July 2018-30 June 2019)
Guest Professor-Rome Study Abroad Program
Loyola University New Orleans New Orleans, LA
(June 2017)
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Loyola University New Orleans School of Law
New Orleans, LA
(August 2013-May 2015)
Law Clerk / Associate
Shackleford, Farrior, Stallings & Evans, P.A. Tampa, Florida
(Law Clerk, June - August 1986) (Associate, October 1987 - May 1991

AREAS OF PRACTICE:

Legal and medical malpractice defense
Representation of lawyers before the Florida Bar
Representation of physicians before the Florida Board of Medicine and Agency for Health Care Administration
Experienced also in areas of debtor/creditor relations, Bankruptcy litigation, corporate and tax litigation

AWARDS AND HONORS:

2014 Recipient of Tampa Jesuit High School’s “Man for Others” Award
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent (5.0 out of 5 ratings, indicating a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence)
Selected by peers as a “Florida Super Lawyer” (one of the top five percent of lawyers in the state) in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
University of Florida, Florida Blue Key (1982-1987)
President 1987 Regis College, Toronto, ΑΣΝ (Alpha Sigma Nu) Honor Society of Jesuit Institutions of Higher Learning (2017-present)
University of Florida, ΦΑθ (Phi Alpha Theta) History Honorary Society (1982-1987) University of Florida, ΟΔΚ (Omicron Delta Kappa) Service Honorary Society (1981-1987).

COURSES:

Fall 2024:
- Torts I
- LAW L705-003
- Legal Research and Writing LAW L715-051
Spring 2024
- Appellate Advocacy
- LAW-L765-009 (Day Section)
- LAW-L765-051 (Evening Section)

PUBLICATIONS:

What can the Blues Brothers teach us about the Common Good? A Primer on Thomas Aquinas’ Philosophy of Natural Law
Loyola Law Review (Vol. 60, Summer 2014).
When Someone Else’s Tax Problems Become Your Own,
Parts I and II
Tampa Business Journal, March and April 1996

BOOK REVIEWS:

Florida Bar Journal Vol. 94, No. 1 January/February 2020
Florida Legal Malpractice Law: Commentary and Forms
By Warren R. Trazenfeld and Robert M. Jarvis
Reviewed by W. Penn Dawson

CHURCH AND JESUIT ACTIVITIES:

Saint Charles College Advisory Committee Grand Coteau, Louisiana (October 2023-present)
Loyola University Faculty Senate (September 2020 – present)
Member of the Board of Directors Jesuit High School of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA (January 2020-present)
Member of the Board of Trustees Jesuit High School of Tampa Tampa, FL (August 2014-present)
Transitional Deacon Saint Peter’s Parish 830 Bathurst Street Toronto, ON, Canada M5R 3G1 May 2017-May 2018 and Holy Name of Jesus Parish Loyola University New Orleans 6220 LaSalle Place, New Orleans, LA 70118-6236 (July-August 2017, June 2018)
Chaplain, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County (a/k/a Cook County Hospital), Chicago, IL (September 2011-May 2013)
Karasibai Primary School Teacher, Saint Therese of Lisieux Mission, Saint Therese of Lisieux Mission, Karasibai, Guyana, (January-April 2011) (as a Jesuit Novice)
Substitute Teacher, Rockhurst Jesuit High School (Jesuit preparatory school in Kansas City, MO) (October-December 2010) (as a Jesuit Novice)
Team Member, L’Arche Mobile, Mobile, AL (March-May 2010) (as a Jesuit Novice) Volunteer Chaplain, Evins Juvenile Correctional Facility Edinburg, TX (January-March 2010) (as a Jesuit Novice)
Volunteer Chaplain, University Medical Center (n/k/a Lafayette General Medical Center), Lafayette, LA (September 2009-October 2010) (as a Jesuit Novice)