Mr. Fifner received his undergraduate degree from Stetson
University in 1982. Mr. Fifner
attended law school at Cleveland State University-John Marshall School of Law
where he graduated with a Juris Doctorate in 1985.
Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Fifner served
as Secretary and General Counsel to U.S. Truck Lines, Inc. of Delaware, where
he managed the legal affairs of the company and its thirty-five
subsidiaries. Among Mr. Fifner’s
duties included the selection and purchase of insurance coverages, the
management of worker’s compensation claims, the review and approval of all
contracts, and the management of all litigation matters throughout the United
States including the handling of all claims within the company’s $250,000.00
self-insured retention.
Thereafter, Mr. Fifner joined a private law firm
and continued in the defense of commercial trucking matters, representing such
companies as Yellow Freight, Inc.; Carolina Freight, Inc.; Munson Trucking,
Inc.; and Crete Carrier, Inc. in liability claims through to trial.
In 1991, Mr. Fifner moved in
house to one of the country’s largest writers of personal lines insurance,
where he trained casualty adjusters in claims handling and legal procedures, audited
all Florida claims offices, handled excess exposure lawsuits, and supervised
and managed claims in litigation.
In 1996, Mr. Fifner returned to
the practice of law in the private law firm setting and has since continued in
the defense of first- and third-party claims of all types, including large-loss
litigation through to trial.
Mr. Fifner is admitted to the
practice law in the state courts of Ohio and Florida. In addition, Mr. Fifner is admitted to the bars of the United
States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the United States
District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the United States
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In addition to his legal
practice, Mr. Fifner has lectured in such areas as insurance policy law and
automobile accident litigation.
