Dakota Knehans

Associate

Dakota focuses her practice on commercial and civil litigation. She has represented corporations, retailers, business operators, and insurance companies against various personal injury, property, dispossessory, and contract claims. Dakota also has experience assisting clients with various coverage disputes including builder’s risk, commercial property, and personal property claims.

Prior to joining the firm, Dakota was an associate at a Georgia based law firm, where she focused on automobile liability, premises liability, and insurance coverage issues. She was also a law clerk for the South Carolina Circuit Court – 16th Circuit where she worked closely with Judge McKinnon in the adjudication of both civil and criminal cases, including overseeing and assisting with several trials.

Dakota earned her bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of South Carolina. While in law school, she earned the Sherod H. Eadon Excellence in Trial Advocacy Award, the CALI award in the Civil Litigation Capstone course, and was a finalist at both the Puerto Rico International Mock Trial Competition and the Buffalo-Niagara Invitational Mock Trial Competition.

News

Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Support Critical Voting Rights Cases

November 01, 2022

We celebrate National Pro Bono Week by sharing the high-impact work of Cozen O’Connor attorneys who have contributed to critical voting rights cases.

Publications

Missouri Takes A Stand On Depreciation [Property Insurance Law Observer Blog]

July 21, 2022

On June 28, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision finding Lexington Insurance Company (“Lexington”) breached its policy with homeowner Cynthia Franklin. Franklin’s home has sustained damage in a May 2016 storm for which she submitted a claim with Lexington. Lexington...

New Statute May Spell Trouble for New Jersey Insurers [Avoiding Insurance Bad Faith Blog]

January 26, 2022

On January 19, 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S.B. 1559, known as the “New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act,” which allows motorists to sue their insurance companies over “unreasonably” late or denied coverage benefits and unfair settlement practices. The bill, passing through both...

Industry Sectors

Education

  • University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2019
  • University of South Carolina, B.A., 2016
  • Georgia
  • South Carolina
  • U.S. District Court -- Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court -- Middle District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court -- South Carolina
  • Georgia Superior Court
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court -- South Carolina

The Honorable William A. McKinnon, South Carolina Circuit Court – 16th Circuit, York, SC

Southern Loss Association, Inc.

Georgia Defense Lawyers Association 

Defense Research Institute