Anthony is a Louisiana native but moved to Florida to pursue being an attorney. He attended Louisiana Tech University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts, majoring in History with a minor in English. Anthony then attended Stetson University of Law and interned at the Tampa State Attorney’s Office. He received his J.D. from Stetson University of Law, cum laude.

Anthony became a law clerk for Vernis & Bowling of St. Petersburg and upon graduation and bar acceptance, is now an Associate Attorney, where he helps defend clients in a wide range of practice areas including personal injury and first-party insurance litigation. Anthony’s goal as a defense attorney is to provide excellent and competent representation for his clients, while building lasting relationships.

When not practicing law, Anthony’s hobbies include playing guitar, going to the beach, cooking, and practicing mixed martial arts.

Ryan Benninger was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. Before joining Vernis & Bowling, he worked for a maritime defense firm located in Miami, Florida, where he focused much of his practice assisting in the defense of cruise lines in crewmember personal injury claims before the ICDR. Mr. Benninger also assisted in the defense of maritime-related personal injury, wrongful death, and limitation of liability civil actions in Florida state and federal courts.

Previously, Mr. Benninger had served as an Assistant District Attorney under Richard E. Bower at the Fayette County District Attorney’s Office located in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He successfully prosecuted felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile criminal matters in one of the most active county-level district attorney’s offices in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Benninger also has considerable appellate experience litigating matters in the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts. Prior to working as an ADA, Mr. Benninger served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Judge Joseph M. George, Jr., in the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He also served as a court-appointed member of the Fayette County Compulsory Arbitration Panel. He also spent time working alongside his lawyer-parents who operate a personal injury/medical malpractice Plaintiff’s firm in Morgantown, West Virginia.  Mr. Benninger utilizes his broad range of experience, skills, and experience to effectively represent his clients’ interests.  He is compassionate and cares about his client’s outcome and performs his due diligence in researching to offer them solutions.

Mr. Benninger began his academic studies at West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he obtained his B.S. in Biology. He worked for a year as an Orvis-Endorsed fly-fishing guide for an outfitter and lodge located in Western Maryland. He returned to WVU to complete his M.S. in Agriculture Resource Economics. During his tenure in graduate school, Mr. Benninger was asked to participate in research projects funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy, which required that he undertake extensive legal research and perform lobbying activities, leading to his interest in pursuing a law degree. Mr. Benninger later completed law school at WVU College of Law in 2015, graduating in the top third of his class and excelling in the areas, of trial litigation, trial advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution. During law school, Mr. Benninger served as a Magistrate Court-appointed mediator and received Pro Bono recognition at graduation. He then graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, located in Coral Gables, Florida, with an L.L.M. focused in Admiralty and Maritime law.

At Vernis & Bowling, Mr. Benninger’s multi-discipline practice focuses on insurance defense, admiralty and maritime matters, personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability, recreational dive/snorkeling accidents, municipal code enforcement, and school board litigation.  He utilizes his broad range of experience and skills to effectively represent his client’s interests.  He is compassionate and cares about the case outcome and performs his due diligence in researching to offer them solutions.

Mr. Benninger enjoys spending time with his wife and raising their two sons and can frequently be found chasing tarpon, sharks, and bonefish in the backcountry waters of the Florida Keys when he is not working to assist his clients.

Hunter is a Florida native born and raised in the Florida Keys. Following his graduation from the University of Central Florida, he returned to Key Largo to attend law school at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, graduating in 2020. After admission to the Florida Bar, Mr. O’Connor began practicing with Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys.

As an associate with Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys, Mr. O’Connor has practiced in a wide variety of areas with a focus towards local government law.

Mr. O’Connor handles various legal matters for The School Board of Monroe County, the City of Key Colony Beach, City of Layton, Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Key Largo Fire & EMS District, North Fort Myers Fire District, and Monroe County. Some of the legal areas Mr. O’Connor handles include, but are not limited to, contracts, ordinances, procurement, affordable housing, public records, and sunshine law. Mr. O’Connor looks forward to continuing to expand his skills and expertise alongside the excellent attorneys at Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys.

Hailey Jordaan was born in Clearwater, Florida, and grew up in the Tampa Bay area. She graduated Cum Laude from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a minor in Sociology. Hailey then attended Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center where she graduated with her Juris Doctor. Upon graduation, Hailey received the Dean’s Outstanding Pro-Bono Service Award.

During her law school career, Hailey was a part of the LSU Law Immigration Clinic, an Extern at the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, and worked in private practice. In 2016, she had the opportunity to spend the summer studying law in Lyon, France, and visit the International Labour Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. She also served on the Academics Committee and Tailgate Committee while at LSU Law. Hailey was able to study at the University of Florida Levin College of Law for her final year of law school.

Hailey was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2018 and joined Vernis & Bowling as an Associate Attorney defending insurance and tort matters, including Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and general liability. Her outside interest includes cooking, reading, and traveling whenever she can.

William Kratochvil was born in South Bend, Indiana, but grew up splitting time in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Laconia, New Hampshire. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps from 1990-1994, serving on the Presidential Guard Detail for President George Herbert Walker Bush, then in the infantry before receiving his Honorable Discharge. In 1997, he completed his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, with honors, then attended the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 2000, with honors.

After graduating from the University of Florida, William moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where he began his career working as an insurance defense lawyer. He eventually became the managing partner at the firm of George, Hartz, and Lundeen in Fort Myers, working on all aspects of insurance defense cases and taking many to successful trial results. William has also specialized in S.I.U/Fraud as well as civil rights defense cases.

William joins Vernis & Bowling of Southwest Florida, P.A. to focus his civil trial practice in all areas of automobile negligence, premises liability, products liability, negligent security, employment law, civil rights litigation, construction litigation, first/third party claims and liability defense.

William is a member of the Florida Bar and is also admitted in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

When not working, William enjoys all aspects of outdoor life with his two children to include camping, hiking, boating, and fishing.