Wesley C. Dicus, Sr. was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Florida. He attended Florida State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences with a minor in American History. After graduating from Florida State University, Mr. Dicus attended and is a graduate of Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida.
While in law school, Mr. Dicus received Book Awards, including the Book Award in International Sales Law and Arbitration. Other awards include the Victor O. Wehle Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, as well as earning first place in Stetson University College of Law’s first-ever Advanced Trial Competition.
Mr. Dicus began his career at the State Attorney’s Office for Pinellas and Pasco County under State Attorney Bernie McCabe. As an assistant State Attorney, Mr. Dicus prosecuted all manner of criminal cases from misdemeanor traffic offenses to first-degree murder. As a misdemeanor prosecutor, Mr. Dicus was promoted to Anti-Gang Prosecutor and Lead Trial Attorney. As a felony prosecutor, Mr. Dicus was promoted to handle sensitive and critical cases of felony domestic violence and crimes against children. Mr. Dicus also tried several high-exposure cases and was featured on Investigation Discovery’s 20/20 Deadly Women, Snapped, and CNN’s Vengeance: Killer Lovers.
After leaving the State Attorney’s Office, Mr. Dicus began his civil career at a prominent St. Petersburg law firm, litigating commercial and residential insurance claim disputes. In 2013, Mr. Dicus accepted a partnership at the largest woman and minority owned law firm in the country. While there, Mr. Dicus represented Florida’s largest insurance companies in all manner of insurance claims litigation covering a wide variety of daily and catastrophic property claims throughout the entire state of Florida.
In 2017, Mr. Dicus and Mr. Burke established their boutique civil trial law firm, which has grown to become Dicus Burke & Lewis, PLLC. Mr. Dicus primarily represents individuals, homeowner's associations, condominium associations, and business owners in disputed property damage claims against their insurance companies, as well as claims against at-fault, negligent parties. Dicus Burke & Lewis, PLLC, and Mr. Dicus handle a variety of cases, including but not limited to commercial and residential property insurance claim dispute litigation, construction defect litigation, personal injury and premises liability (slip-and-fall), insurance agency negligence litigation, and construction/contractor lien law litigation. Mr. Dicus is also regularly engaged by other law firms as trial counsel in property insurance claims disputes heading to trial.
During his career, Mr. Dicus brought over 70 cases to jury trial, with outstanding results for his clients. Dicus Burke & Lewis, PLLC has recovered millions of dollars in settlement proceeds and jury verdicts for its clientele.
In 2020 and 2021, Thomson Reuters and Superlawyers.com awarded Mr. Dicus the prestigious title of Super Lawyer in Civil Litigation in Florida. Super Lawyers are selected using a multiphase evaluation process on twelve indicators in peer recognition and professional achievement. The lawyers who rank and the top 5% of lawyers in the state are selected as Super Lawyers.
Most recently, Mr. Dicus was honored by National Trial Lawyers, being named a National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in the State of Florida. This honor is reserved for only a select group of top attorneys from each state and is regulated by objective and uniformly applied standards to uphold the highest level of excellence.
