Russ Snyder has handled complex civil law disputes throughout Southwest Florida since 1974.  Although the firm is best known for Mr. Snyder’s handling of will contests and probate and trust litigation, Russ Snyder has also handled hundreds of complicated divorces and serious personal injury cases during his nearly 30 years as a trial lawyer.  Russ Snyder is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and has held that certification since 1985.  Russ Snyder handles only cases with substantial finances in dispute.  He has handled many million dollar inheritance matters, many divorce cases involving substantial marital estates and many serious personal injury or wrongful death cases.  In 1998, the lawyers of the firm obtained a $2 million dollar jury verdict including $1.2 million dollars in punitive damages in a major toxic tort case in Polk County, Florida.

At Russ Snyder’s firm, clients receive aggressive legal representation, but tempered by compassion, warmth and understanding.  Mr. Snyder takes a personal interest in his clients and guides them through the legal system during upsetting and difficult times when clients have lost their loved ones, are fighting with siblings or relatives, are dissolving a long-term marriage, or suffering from serious injuries. 

At our firm, clients are treated as friends.  We limit our practice so that we may provide this kind of personal service.  We believe that complex legal problems should be zealously pursued but that every effort should be made to resolve those disputes through mediation and that trials, either non-jury or with juries, should be the rare exception, and only as a last resort to resolve such disputes.  Mr. Snyder and his staff take a personal interest in the lives of their clients and keep the clients informed of the progress of their cases.  Many of the firm’s clients reside in other states but had loved ones die in Southwest Florida.

Russ Snyder has found, over the years, that most clients would prefer to resolve their disputes through mediation rather than trials.  This saves a great deal of time and, accordingly, a great deal of money.  Million dollar cases can be settled, if everyone cooperates, in months instead of years and for a fraction of what a case resolved by trial would cost.  Almost no one would prefer to wait two, or three, or four years to resolve their dispute if it can be resolved in much less time for much less money.  However, should a case not lend itself to mediation or to settlement through such procedures, Mr. Snyder has 29 years of trial experience and is well-known for his courtroom ability.

Russ Snyder is one of only a few Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyers who practice within the area of probate and trust litigation on the West Coast of Florida.  He is also Chair and Founder of the Probate and Trust Litigation Sub-Section of the Sarasota County Bar Association. 

The firm utilizes a team approach.  Mr. Snyder is assisted by long-time office manager/legal assistant, Valerie Aitken (inheritance cases); Lory Wright (personal injury); Kim Lyle (divorces) and Heidi Hesoun (trial preparation and organization.  The law firm operates out of a landmark building in downtown Venice, a small city, 80 miles South of Tampa, 19 miles South of Sarasota and 35 miles North (West) of Punta Gorda.