612 W Bay St, Tampa, FL 33606
612 W Bay St, Tampa, FL 33606
Brian Shrader is the founder of Shrader Mendez & O’Connell. His focus is on litigation and trials relating to all of the firm’s four practice areas. Brian has an AV Rating by Martindale Hubble, reflecting the highest rating by his peers and judges. In addition, Brian was selected as a multiple-year Superlawyers Rising Star, an honor reflecting a peer review rating in the top 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40. As a respected trial attorney, Brian has been hired by other law firms to consult regarding litigation strategy and conduct trials on their client’s behalf.
Prior to starting Shrader Mendez & O’Connell, Brian was a founding partner of Centrone & Shrader, a National Partner at a large multi-national firm, and a prosecutor. Prior to being a licensed attorney, Brian interned at Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal and consulted with legal scholars in Jamaica as part of a Caribbean Law Clinic.
Brian’s has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Florida for his commitment to pro bono work. As part of his pro bono projects, Brian sought and obtained an executive clemency, signed by President Obama, granting freedom to a federal inmate originally sentenced to life. Brian has lectured at Stetson University College of Law’s Bankruptcy Law Clinic regarding consumer law and at The University of Tampa regarding white collar crime. He is also a multi-year speaker at the Federal Bar Associations Federal Sentencing Guidelines Seminar. In addition, Brian is a published author in the areas of criminal law and business compliance with international treaties.
Brian Shrader began his legal career as a prosecutor for the State of Florida. He has handled over a thousand criminal cases and conducted nearly 200 criminal trials in front of both judge and jury. As do most prosecutors, Brian started in a misdemeanor and DUI unit; however, Brian was later selected to handle a specialized division of sensitive domestic violence cases. After almost a year of serving as a domestic violence prosecutor, Brian was promoted to a division handling all types of serious felony crimes, such as burglary, aggravated battery, drug trafficking, robbery, firearm offenses, and attempted murder.
Brian was later promoted to the Economic/White Collar Crime Unit where he worked on various white-collar crimes, including insurance and mortgage fraud. Through a grant from the State of Florida, Brian also oversaw a specialized Workers Compensation Fraud Unit.
Brian has dedicated himself to a career defending those accused of crimes in both state and federal court. Brian has assisted defendants accused of crimes ranging from possession of marijuana to murder. In addition, Brian has experience handling multinational drug smuggling defense, racketeering defense, and complex internal white-collar corporate investigations.
The Best Defender of Consumers is an Attorney who can go on the Offensive
After leaving the prosecutor’s office, Brian became a senior trial attorney at a consumer protection law firm. There he managed a high volume of litigated consumer protection cases against some of the largest corporations in the world. Litigation against large law firms became his regular practice and he regularly took cases to trial against banks and debt collectors. Brian’s consumer practice also includes Multi-District Litigation, class actions, and representing Chapter 7 Trustees.
Brian now regularly helps consumers turn the tables on harassing debt collection practices, predatory lending, and bankruptcy discharge violations.
Whether it is a slip and fall, or a catastrophic automobile accident, Brian Shrader is prepared to take on the insurance company goliaths that will deny or undercut what you are owed. Brian brings his prior experience on the defense of personal injury claims, including representing those in the trucking industry, to representing clients harmed by the negligence of others. His diverse litigation experience and being willing and able to take a case to trial, no matter the challenges, makes Brian an ideal attorney for those seeking compensation.
Brian has earned a reputation as a leading attorney on domestic and international contract disputes including disputes governed by the United Nations International Convention for the Sale of Goods.
Since co-founding Shrader Mendez & O’Connell, Brian has obtained million-dollar judgments on his client’s behalf against businesses in international business disputes. His practice has included post-judgment collections of judgments against businesses through levy, writs, and proceedings supplemental.
Kellie O’Connell grew up in the mountains of Colorado with her four older brothers. She attended the University of Tampa where she graduated early with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. During her undergraduate studies, she interned for the Public Defender’s office for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Kellie then attended Stetson University College of law where she graduated early with a Juris Doctor. Kellie received recognition from Stetson College of Law for Leadership Development and received a prestigious scholarship in advocacy for the protection of the rights of individuals.
During law school Kellie also completed an intensive trial advocacy program at Oxford University in England. In 2016 Kellie assisted in running a foreclosure mediation program for Hillsborough County. After that, Kellie worked full time with the firm while completing law school.
Upon joining the firm, Kellie has handled matters in all the firm’s practice areas, but notably began a focus on criminal defense, her true passion. She is a volunteer attorney for Crossroads for Florida Kids, and actively volunteers for several organizations, including a clinic in Hillsborough County which provides free legal advice to the homeless population.
Kellie O’Connell has experience in civil litigation, criminal defense, consumer protection, class actions, and appeals. She enjoys volunteering, traveling, and spending time outside with her dogs.
Alex’s passion for advocacy is inherited through deep roots in the law. His great-grandfather was the personal attorney/Attorney General for Ramon Grau San Martin, who was the President of Cuba. Alex Mendez is a bilingual first-generation American born and raised in Orlando, Florida.
Alex was baseball student-athlete at the University of South Florida (“USF”), where he double majored in Biomedical Sciences and Business Management. Alex’s success in the classroom carried over onto the baseball field as he earned Capital One Academic All-American honors during his senior season. During his time at USF, Alex served as the Division I Student Athlete Advisory Committee Representative for the Big East Conference, representing all of the student-athletes of the Big East Conference. Not only recognized in sports, Alex was recognized by the USF Muma College of Business as a 25 Under 25 honoree.
Upon graduating from USF, Alex began working at the Comprehensive Drug Research Center at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Alex earned his Masters of Public Health while conducting research as to disparities amongst different racial and ethnic groups relating to their access to health, legal rights and overall impact of these challenges on their daily lives. It was during his time at the University of Miami that Alex’s passion for the legal field grew.
During his studies at Stetson University College of Law, Alex completed an intensive trial advocacy program at Oxford University. Alex has a vast knowledge of matters relating to personal injury, criminal defense, consumer protection, class actions, and business disputes.
Through all of his endeavors, the one thing that Alex holds closest to his heart is his family. Alex and his wife Ashli, who was softball student-athlete at USF, have two daughters, Andi and Mila, and two dogs, Zeus and Kai.
ADDRESS : 612 W Bay St, Tampa, FL 33606