Professional Experience:

Sallie Papajohn Neese is an attorney in the firm’s Pensacola office, where she represents insurers and their insureds, real estate owners, and individuals in a wide range of litigation matters, including real property disputes, breach of contract claims, title liability, and commercial real estate defaults. Sallie also assists in representing public boards, including Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. and Escambia Children’s Trust, advising on corporate governance, risk management, regulatory compliance, and strategic legal matters.

Sallie earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University, where she double majored in Anthropology and Psychology and graduated early, summa cum laude. Following graduation, she spent a year living in Australia before returning to Pensacola to work as a legal assistant at a local firm. She then attended the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she distinguished herself academically, earning multiple book awards for achieving the top grade in her classes and graduating in the top two percent of her class.

While in law school, Sallie actively pursued practical legal experience through the University of Tennessee’s Expungement Legal Clinic and Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, where she worked directly with community members in need of legal assistance. She also served as a graduate assistant and research assistant to several professors and was a Staff Editor and Senior Commentary Editor for Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law.

Sallie began her legal career in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she practiced in a broad range of civil litigation matters, including personal injury, employment, medical malpractice, education law, and the defense of government entities and public officials. Her experience includes mediating cases and participating in both jury and bench trials.

Prior to joining the firm, Sallie served as a civilian attorney for the United States Navy in the Red Hill Claims Unit under the Navy’s Tort Claims Unit. In that role, she was part of a nine-attorney team responsible for adjudicating personal and business claims arising from the November 2021 jet fuel spill at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Oahu, Hawaii. Her work included providing litigation support to Assistant United States Attorneys in federal lawsuits, developing comprehensive litigation hold protocols for mass tort claims, and preparing significant internal reports and updates for senior Pentagon leadership on high-impact legal issues related to the Red Hill matter.

A Gulf Breeze native, Sallie is excited to return home to practice law in the community where she was raised. Outside of her practice, she enjoys spending time with her husband and young son, reading, traveling, and enjoying the Gulf Coast.

Sallie is admitted to practice in all Florida and Tennessee State Courts, as well as in the United States District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee.

• University of Tennessee College of Law, Order of the Coif
• University of Tennessee College of Law, Hardwick-Woods Fellowship Recipient
• University of Tennessee College of Law, Tennessee Law Scholar & Research Associate