Mara Ritchie Poncy Hatfield

MARA RITCHIE PONCY HATFIELD, who holds dual degrees in environmental law, has consulted with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley since 2006 on issues related to environmental and entertainment law. Hatfield has assisted the firm in investigation and litigation related to a cancer cluster in Palm Beach County, and also on intellectual property and consumer-based class action lawsuits. As a law clerk, she worked with attorneys Chris Searcy, Jack Scarola, Patrick Quinlan, and Brian Denney on complex litigation cases. Raised in Florida, Ms. Hatfield earned a Bachelor’s degree in English literature from Knox College in Illinois and an M.A. in English literature from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. In December 2005, she was awarded both J.D. and Master’s degrees in the Studies of Environmental Law from Vermont Law School, which has the largest graduate environmental law program in the country. Hatfield lives in Palm Beach County with her husband and their three children. In her spare time, she especially enjoys writing fiction, poetry, screenplays, and lyrics.