Denise D. Pentino

Partner

Denise is a trusted adviser to her clients.  Her approach to representation is to form a partnership with them, which includes developing a deep understanding of their business. Her clients are confident she makes strategic recommendations with a global view of how the defense to one individual case may impact future cases or business relationships. 

She has been practicing for more than three decades and is the managing partner of the firm’s Wheeling office. Her practice focuses on insurance bad faith and chemical exposure litigation. She represents multiple insurance companies and chemical industry clients. Her experience includes management, discovery, and resolution of lawsuits for violation of insurance regulations involving personal and commercial insurance coverage. She also serves as lead counsel and co-counsel in class action, multi-party suits, and mass tort claims, including medical monitoring, benzene exposure claims, and personal injury suits relating to neurological disease, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, various cancers, and bronchiolitis obliterans.

Denise began her career at a general practice law firm defending trucking companies, hospitals in medical malpractice cases, and employers in workers’ compensation claims.  She knows from her experience cases that appear dissimilar on the surface may have connective tissue at their root, and she understands the importance of thoroughly vetting the specific details behind every claim involving her clients.

A proven leader in the firm, she selects and manages teams of attorneys tasked with serving clients’ specific needs. Her colleagues consider her a driving force; she is tenacious, and she demands the best of her co-workers and fellow attorneys when defending cases. She is also the office managing partner.

Credentials

Education

West Virginia University College of Law (J.D., 1994)

  • Moot Court Board

Wheeling Jesuit University (B.A., 1990)

  • Political Science
  • Outstanding Senior in Social Sciences Award

Bar admissions

  • West Virginia

Court admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Affiliations and memberships

  • The Health Plan of West Virginia, Immediate Past Chair of the Board; Chair of the Board, 2021-2024
  • Leadership West Virginia (2008)

Distinctions

  • Peer Review Rated AV in Martindale-Hubbell
  • Best Lawyers®
    • Commercial Litigation (2021-2024)
  • West Virginia Super Lawyers®
    • Insurance Coverage (2013 – 2015, 2017 – 2023, 2025)
  • West Virginia Generation Next presented by The State Journal (2006)
  • Dinsmore Board of Directors (2009 – 2015)

News
  • August 21, 2025

    260 Dinsmore Attorneys Listed as 2026 Best Lawyers®, Ones to Watch

  • April 24, 2025

    West Virginia Super Lawyers Recognizes 15 Dinsmore Attorneys on 2025 List

  • August 15, 2024

    250+ Dinsmore Attorneys Named 2025 Best Lawyers ®, Ones to Watch

  • August 17, 2023

    200+ Dinsmore Attorneys Named 2024 Best Lawyers®, “Ones to Watch”

  • April 28, 2023

    21 Dinsmore Attorneys Named To Super Lawyers, Rising Star Lists in West Virginia

  • August 18, 2022

    2023 Best Lawyers® List Recognizes 190 Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys

  • May 5, 2022

    West Virginia Super Lawyers Honors 21 Dinsmore Attorneys; One Named Top 10 in State

  • February 28, 2022

    Dinsmore Marks 20 Years, Continued Growth in West Virginia

  • August 19, 2021

    Best Lawyers® Recognizes 191 Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys

  • May 6, 2021

    Dinsmore Attorneys Top 2021 West Virginia Super Lawyers List