WILKES & McHUGH, P.A. ATTORNEY:

Bennie Lazzara, Jr.

Bennie Lazzara Jr. has been with Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. since 1997 and has dedicated his trial expertise to championing the cause of the elderly, as well as fighting for victims of a variety of crimes and injustices. He has been involved in the trial of nursing home cases that resulted in several multi-million dollar, record-setting jury verdicts in Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and California. Mr. Lazzara has, as trial counsel, amassed more than $200 million in total verdicts in his time with W&M.

In March 2009, he tried a case where a 19-year-old woman was catastrophically injured by a tractor-trailer. The jury returned a $65-million verdict, which was reported to be a record in Polk County, Florida. It also was listed as one of the top 10 verdicts in the country for 2009 by LawyersUSA and the American Association for Justice. Check out the links below to read more about the kinds of cases he has successfully litigated.

Mr. Lazzara has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for his skill. His accolades include being named in the prestigious book entitled "Best Lawyers in America" for the last 20 years. Law & Politics, a distinguished journal, consistently names Mr. Lazzara to its list of "Florida Super Lawyers." Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in Florida are listed as Super Lawyers. He earned the "In the Trenches" award from the Hillsborough County (Florida) Bar Association. Also, Mr. Lazzara has been accepted in two presitgious and select legal groups: the American Board of Trial Advocates; and the American Board of Criminal Lawyers.

Before Mr. Lazzara joined Wilkes & McHugh, P.A., he was a prosecutor with the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office and an attorney with the Public Defender's Office in Hillsborough County. At 25, he was prosecuting capital murder cases. He went on to become managing partner at Lazzara & Paul, P.A. for 23 years, where he handled a variety of cases, including medical malpractice, personal injury, criminal defense, wrongful death, libel, and other areas of commercial litigation.

Mr. Lazzara became known as one of Tampa's legendary criminal defense lawyers. He successfully defended an innocent man accused of killing his wife and her boss in a crime dubbed the "Brandon Pizza Hut murders." It was a high-profile case that gained national attention for Mr. Lazzara's use of jury selection and blood splatter experts. It was featured on ABC's "Turning Point" and Connie Chung's "Eye to Eye" and still is used for training and education by some law enforcement agencies and law schools. Other standout defenses include those of several public officials, such as judges, sheriffs and a father of four who, in self-defense, shot and killed a homeless man who was attacking him.

Mr. Lazzara is licensed to practice law in Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. He is admitted before the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Courts of Florida and Montana. He is a member of the Florida Bar, the Florida Justice Association, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association, the Mississippi Bar Association, the State Bar of Montana, the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and the American Association for Justice.

Mr. Lazzara received his undergraduate degree and Juris Doctorate degree with honors from the University of Florida in 1966 and 1969, respectively. He and his previous partner, Henry Paul, were instrumental in the creation of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and served as their legal counsel. Mr. Lazzara is a regular speaker at national law conferences and law schools.