Mosley High School grad Ben Bollinger joins State Attorney’s Office

BAY COUNTY, FL - Longtime Panama City attorney Ben Bollinger is now Bay County’s Misdemeanor Division Chief, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Bollinger, who during his 28 years of private practice was named one of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Attorneys 8 times, said that like many Bay County residents his outlook on life changed after Hurricane Michael in 2018. His office was damaged, not badly, but business slowed. “I had time to reflect and really look at whether I was following the plan God wanted me to follow,” he said. The result was a decision to “slow down,” and he put his office on Fourth Street by the courthouse up for sale.

But then a friend and fellow attorney fell ill, and Bollinger stepped up to help with cases and handle the office for about a year as his friend recovered.

“I found that I learned a lot about myself that year, and that volunteer service to others was really satisfying and following God’s will was very humbling,” he said.

About 6 months ago Bob Pell announced he would be retiring from the State Attorney’s Office (Pell retired Friday), where he most recently served as the Misdemeanor Division Chief. Pell was soon talking to Bollinger about the position.

“I have a lot of friends here, Mr. Basford, Mark Graham, other prosecutors,” Bollinger said of the SAO. “These are people I’ve worked with in court and known in the community. I was humbled that I would be considered and the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as an opportunity to be of service to my community.”

With the support of his wife, Krystal, and their children, he took the opportunity.

“I have prayed and feel that God has placed in my heart the desire to help and serve others in the role of an Assistant State Attorney,” he said. “I know that my legal career has more years behind it than ahead of it, but if I can help young attorneys coming up, I want to be at their service.”

Bollinger attended A. Crawford Mosley High School, received his A.A. in Criminal Justice at Gulf Coast Community College (now Gulf Coast State College), his B.S., Criminology at Florida State University, and his law degree from the St. Thomas University School of law in Miami.

He went into private practice in 1996, and during his career was honored for his achievements and highly active in the community. They include receiving the Florida Bar’s President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the 14th Judicial Circuit, being Coordinator for Bay County’s First Saturday Legal Clinic for the poor, President of the Bay County Chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and serving on the board of the Panama City Beach Library.

He also turned to physical fitness as both a stress reliever and to improve his overall health and is now a certified personal trainer. He also is a Spartan SGX Coach and Spartan Krypteia - meaning he coaches athletes on their mental and emotional well-being as well as their physical training program.