Welcome to the Advisory Council Patty Dodson!

It is our great pleasure to announce that Patty Dodson, Chief of Staff & General Counsel from K9s for Warriors, has joined the Cohen Clinic at Centerstone, Jacksonville’s Advisory Council. As Chief of Staff and General Counsel of K9s For Warriors (K9s), Patty Dodson serves as the chief legal and personnel advisor to the organization, which includes leading the human resources, legal, and government affairs teams, and the scientific research efforts. She feels blessed that her diverse legal and management experience prepared her to help K9s carry out its mission. Patty enjoys helping Warriors learn and navigate federal and state law pertaining to Service Dog use, and advocating for funds and laws that benefit veterans and against disability discrimination and public access restrictions. Her broad range of responsibilities include personnel, employee relations, finance, business, and risk management, corporate creation and governance, contract negotiation and drafting, general legal compliance, and lobbying. She draws on her wealth of litigation and client counseling experience when providing support to every department and team within K9s. As an AV-Preeminent-rated attorney, she has earned the respect of her peers, clients, and the judiciary, in the courtroom and in the boardroom, where she has represented corporations, individuals, employers, employees, the State of Florida, plaintiffs, and defendants.

Throughout her 30-year legal career she has tried more than 70 civil and criminal cases to jury verdict, including legal actions and claims involving labor and employment, federal diversity, business contracts, insurance contracts, will and probate contests, civil rights, personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death. She has been a partner in two highly regarded local law firms, and, prior to joining K9s, served as the Managing Director of the State Attorney’s Office where she had responsibility for 120 lawyers, 225 other government employees, a budget of $25 Million, contracts with the City and State, lobbying, and providing counsel directly to the elected State Attorney, while also trying first-degree murder cases.

As a native of Jacksonville, Patty is committed to giving back to her local and legal community, where she is a member of the 2020 Leadership Jacksonville Class, served as Chair of The Florida Bar Code and Rules of Evidence Committee on appointment by The Florida Bar President, after chairing and serving on other local and state Bar committees, is a Master of the Bench in the Chester Bedell American Inn of Court, served as the Past President of the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association (JWLA), received the JWLA Woman Lawyer of the Year Award, received the Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence Award, and continues to provide pro bono legal counsel to other nonprofits and indigent clients.

As an avid outdoorswoman, Patty is passionate about protecting our natural resources for generations to enjoy, which led her to serve on the Board of the Public Trust for Conservation, where she is currently the Secretary, and loves spending time on her farm located in the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve playing with her dogs, cats, horses, goats, and chickens. Growing up as a competitive athlete (with 5 older brothers) and an experienced skydiver, she now enjoys playing golf and shooting sporting clays.