About Chrissie Edwards, Esquire
I had NO IDEA that my personal experience would change the way I practice personal injury law.
Christine D. Edwards (Chrissie) studied pre-law at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, and graduated with honors in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies with a concentration in Criminal Law and Individual Liberties. Ms. Edwards fell in love with the practice of law while working as a receptionist at a large personal injury firm in Tampa.
After graduation, Ms. Edwards went on to law school at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida where she was selected and admitted into U.S. News & World Report’s #1 Trial Advocacy program in the nation. Her studies focused mainly on trial preparation and litigation. As a 1L, Ms. Edwards received a book award for Torts, passing with the highest grade of 4.0. Her pro bono service was solely dedicated to the Innocence Project Stetson Law Chapter, which is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals. Ms. Edwards was a recipient of the McBride Family Scholarship in 2011.
Ms. Edwards worked closely with Professor Susan Rozelle as a research assistant. Her research and writing contributions were published in Criminal Law Stories, West Publishing, 2012. The chapter highlighted the California Supreme Court case, People v. Berry, a murder case that gained notoriety for the Court’s novel approach to the provocation jury instruction. Berry is widely taught today in American law schools.
During her last semester, Ms. Edwards worked as a Certified Legal Intern for the State Attorney’s Office, Pinellas County, 6th Judicial Circuit. The internship helped honed Ms. Edwards’ advocacy skills as she tried misdemeanor and traffic cases for the State of Florida.
While in law school, Ms. Edwards clerked for a high-profile, high-volume firm. She was assigned to help prosecute one of the largest civil cases filed in Polk County history, Fundora v. Division of Forestry, et al., involving a catastrophic accident off I-4. Ms. Edwards accepted an associate position to join the firm after graduating in 2012 from Stetson Law with a Juris Doctorate and successfully completing the Trial Advocacy concentration. Ms. Edwards’ tenure spanned ten
years where she worked on a multitude of different disciplines: including personal injury, wrongful death, civil litigation, and criminal law.
In 2018, she accepted an opportunity to help develop the litigation department of a powerhouse traffic firm before announcing her own firm on the seventh-year anniversary of admission to the Florida Bar. Edwards Law handles cases in the disciplines of criminal law, personal injury, and family law.
The launch of Edwards Law was followed by a pandemic and the real-life problems the world was facing. Ms. Edwards provided legal commentary to Fox13 about the struggles families were experiencing under the stay at home order. Fox13 featured Ms. Edwards’ cases in other public interest matters including State of Florida vs. Lenoir Sainfimin, the successful defense of a Hillsborough County school bus driver. Recently, Ms. Edwards had the privilege to share her greatest success with Stetson’s trial advocacy class as a guest speaker, a four-year fight that led to the release of her client and uncle from a thirty-year incarceration following a successful postconviction 3.850 motion.
Ms. Edwards was admitted to the Supreme Court of Florida in September 2012. She is licensed to practice law in all Florida state courts and the federal Middle District of Florida.
I Know EXACTLY What You're Going Through
I jokingly tell my clients I love them so much that I went and had not one, but two back-to-back accidents to get the true experience because you know lawyers have to do everything a little “extra.” All kidding aside, I had no idea that my personal experience would change the way I practice personal injury law. I was involved in a catastrophic accident leaving me covered in bruises, blood, and permanent injuries to my spine. Two weeks later, while stopped at a red
light, I was crushed from behind, totaling the rental car I was in. I know what it is like to have your life uprooted, from unbearable pain from walking and sitting too long at work to the intense headaches that made every small routine task feel like climbing a mountain. From doctor visits to uncomfortable scans to hours waiting in a hospital room, from missing work, restless nights, insurance questions and problems, needing transportation- I experienced it all. I hear you, I see you.
My accidents, while not something I hope for anyone, did provide me with a unique perspective I can share with my clients. Not only having the knowledge to guide you through the case process from insurance adjusters to defense attorneys, but the compassion to know how you FEEL through the process. I understand your frustration, sometimes hopelessness. I will be there to handle the car issues- property damage, rentals, towing fees, inspections; insurance- coverage, no-fault, limits, adjuster statements; doctors- available providers, scheduling; demand; settlement; paying bills; lost wages. All of it. I want you to focus on the most important thing your health. I have the greatest opportunity to tell you- you are going to get through this, because I did it, and we will do it together.
Call our office at 813-244-8455 today – we are here for you because life’s changes don’t have to define you!!