About Us

Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker is a civil litigation firm engaged in trial practice for the insurance industry, self-insured companies and the defense of individuals and companies. Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker is an “AV” rated firm by Martindale-Hubbell and our partners have over 80 years experience defending clients in both state and federal courts in northwest Florida, including the following counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Calhoun, Liberty, Gulf, Franklin, Gadsden, Wakulla and Leon.

The philosophy of Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker is the quality of the work and the individual relationships with our clients are the cornerstone of the firm. For this reason, Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker will never be a statewide firm. For over the last 3 decades attorneys at Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker have built the firm’s reputation one case at a time. This has resulted in relationships with clients spanning decades. Attorneys at Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker believe that hard work, knowledge of the law, creative defense strategies and the reputation of each of its lawyers with the Bench and the Bar are critical to successful results. For this reason, Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker has and will always be active in Northwest Florida.

Whether defending an insured against liability claims or the insurer in a first party lawsuit, the trial attorneys at WPS are prepared to evaluate claims quickly to take advantage of settlement opportunities and to try those cases which need to be tried.

Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker is a law firm of trial lawyers. In recent years there has been a growing trend to distinguish between litigators and trial lawyers; litigators work a case up for trial and trial lawyers try cases. It is the philosophy at Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker that only a trial lawyer can effectively evaluate a claim. To be able to analyze the risks and properly advise clients Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker must know what the end result could be, and only trial lawyers have this knowledge and ability. This distinction does not exist at Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker, nor will it ever, because we are all TRIAL ATTORNEYS. It takes an experienced attorney to identify and eradicate the risks of every claim, but if your counsel does not try cases, then it is our belief it is impossible to provide sound and prudent advice about the risks. We pride ourselves on our trial record. The attorneys at Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker have the experience of over 175 jury trials. The founding partner, Linda Wade, is designated by the Florida Bar as an expert in civil trial litigation; only 1.5% of all lawyers in the State are Board Certified Trial Attorneys. We have earned the respect of our opponents and the reputation that, if necessary Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker will try a case and in most instances prevail. This is crucial to both the insured and the loss ratio of the companies Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker represents.

WPS offers seminars and continuing education courses in Florida throughout the year for its clients and is approved by the Florida Bar for all areas in which its Attorneys practice.

At Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker, we recognize that clients want advice on the issues, methods of resolution and the risks involved, as well as possible outcomes at every step. As Trial attorneys, we are able to evaluate these issues and because of our experience can do so expediently which is of benefit to insureds and carriers alike. We are seasoned trial lawyers with a passion for what we do. We enjoy the challenge of aggressively defending our clients in front of North Florida juries, while at the same time, we understand that the successful defense of our client does not always involve the risk and expense of a jury trial. For more information regarding our trial experience, as well as a list of our trials, please contact us.

Our Attorneys

Linda
Wade

Managing Partner

Bob
Palmer

Attorney at Law

Gregory M.
Shoemaker

*Of Counsel

Matthew C.
Chavers

Shareholder

Christopher
Varner

Shareholder

Laura LaBianca
Puente

Shareholder

Patrick
Luna

Partner

Katarina
Hamburg

Associate Attorney

Lexie
Fuller

Associate Attorney