Practice Areas

Meros, Smith, Lazzara & Olney, P.A. represents clients in St. Petersburg and throughout Florida in personal injury, malpractice, family law, real estate, commercial and business law, criminal defense, wills, trusts and probate law matters. Established in 1954, we believe that our longevity is attributable to our commitment to our clients, dedication to hard work, our ability to obtain successful results for our clients, and our loyalty to our community.

Personal Injury and Malpractice

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident or as the result of the negligence of another, you are faced with the difficult decision of who to trust; one of the most difficult decisions you will have to make is selecting a personal injury attorney to represent you.

We represent plaintiffs in personal injury and medical malpractice matters, including the following:

Automobile, truck and motorcycle accidents
Boating accidents
Wrongful death
Dangerous/defective/unsafe products (products liability)
Slip and falls (premises liability)
Nursing home injuries
Dog bites
Professional malpractice (such as medical malpractice)

Peter N. Meros and Walter E. Smith, both partners of Meros, Smith, Lazzara & Olney, P.A., represent clients in personal injury, professional malpractice and wrongful death matters. Both Mr. Meros and Mr. Smith are Florida State Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyers, who were part of the inaugural class of board certified trial lawyers in Florida in 1983. Insurance companies and insurance defense counsel tend to evaluate personal injury, wrongful death and malpractice cases with the plaintiff's choice of counsel in mind; our attorneys have the requisite trial experience, knowledge and advocacy skills to successfully represent your interests. In personal injury, wrongful death and professional malpractice matters, our firm represents clients on a contingency fee arrangement, which means that no legal fees will be charged to our clients unless we obtain a recovery on their behalf.

Family Law

Family law matters are often contentious and emotionally charged. Our firm skillfully represents clients in all aspects of family law, including appellate proceedings, arbitrations, and collaborative law actions. Our family law practice includes representation in the following areas:

Dissolution and divorce (including matters involving complex issues and substantial assets)
Alimony and spousal support
Child support and child custody matters
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
Marital settlement agreements, modifications, and relocations
Paternity matters
Domestic violence injunctions
Forensic accounting
Investigative services
Vocational rehabilitation services
Mediation services
Appeals

Peter N. Meros, partner, leads the family law practice area of Meros, Smith, Lazzara, & Olney, P.A. Mr. Meros has been practicing family law since 1972. He has tried hundreds of family law cases and has represented clients in some of the largest, most complicated family law cases that have taken place in Florida. Mr. Meros is also a member of Canakaris Family Law Inns of Court and is a regular speaker at family law seminars for attorneys and other professionals. He has achieved successful results for his clients, including cases which have been documented as landmark decisions in the Florida's First District Court of Appeal and Florida's Supreme Court. Mr. Meros is a Florida State Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, since the initial certification class in 1983.

Belinda B. Lazzara, a partner, also represents clients in family law matters. Ms. Lazzara is also an active member of the Canakaris Family Law Inn of Court. She also serves as a volunteer for the Community Law Program and because of her volunteer work received Newcomer awards in 2001 and 2003.

Through the work of Mr. Meros and Ms. Lazzara, our firm has established an excellent reputation within the legal community, and has developed a relationship of mutual respect with members of the family law bar and bench in Florida.

Supporting Mr. Meros and Ms. Lazzara are Diane Kraujalis and Karen Smith. Ms. Kraujalis is a Certified Legal Assistant, who has been with the firm for over 30 years. Ms. Smith is a highly qualified paralegal with over 30 years of experience handling primarily the complex financial issues, related to family law matters.

Real Estate, Commercial and Business

We have the expertise to represent clients in various real estate, commercial and business law matters, including the following specific areas:

Contract negotiation and disputes
Construction litigation
Mortgage foreclosures
Mortgage restructuring
Residential and commercial real estate transactions
Preparation and/or title review
Real estate document preparation
Closings

Walter E. Smith, a partner, leads the Commercial and Business law division of Meros, Smith, Lazzara & Olney, P.A. Mr. Smith has been handling complex commercial and business litigation since 1971. He is also a Florida State Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, since the initial certification class in 1983. In addition, he is also a Florida State Bar Board Certified Business Litigation Lawyer.

Criminal Defense

We have the experience and advocacy skills to successfully defend clients facing various misdemeanor and felony criminal charges in state and federal court, including the following types of charges:

Drugs and drug trafficking charges
Child abuse
Child neglect
Child sexual charges
Spousal abuse cases
White collar crime
Driving under the influence (DUI)
Traffic offenses

Gregory L. Olney heads the criminal law practice of Meros, Smith, Lazzara, & Olney, P.A. Mr. Olney has been practicing criminal law since 1982 and is an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully handled more than 3000 criminal cases since joining the firm in 1986. Mr. Olney personally handles each criminal defense case. The majority of our criminal defense clients are referred by former clients and other attorneys, who know of the firm's reputation and the mutual respect the firm has developed with the state attorneys' offices throughout Florida, and with members of the criminal bar and bench in the state.

Wills, Trusts, and Probate

Our attorneys represent clients in probate administration matters and estate planning. We recognize every client's situation is unique and we offer personalized estate planning services tailored to accomplish your goals and objectives, while minimizing or eliminating potential tax implications. Our estate planning and probate administration services include:

Preparation of wills and revocable living trusts
Preparation of durable powers of attorney
Preparation of living wills
Health care directives/medical directives
Special needs trusts
Filing of summary administration
Filing of formal probate administration of estates
Adversary proceedings
Representation in complex probate matters

Walter E. Smith, a partner, handles probate and estate planning matters for Meros, Smith, Lazzara & Olney, P.A. He is also a Florida State Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, since the initial certification class in 1983, and a Florida State Bar Board Certified Business Litigation Lawyer.

Contact Meros, Smith, Lazzara & Olney, P.A.

For representation in any of the above practice areas, please contact the office of Meros, Smith, Lazzara & Olney, P.A. by email or call our St. Petersburg office at (727) 822-4929, or our Wesley Chapel office at (813) 973-4979.