Zachariah Wade is criminal defense attorney with a unique perspective and deep understanding of the criminal justice system. He is a born-and-raised Floridian who attended Florida A & M University before obtaining his law degree from the Stetson University College of Law. During college Zachariah was a member of FAMU’s Incomparable Marching “100” in the percussion section. While attending law school, he was a member of the #1 Trial Team in the nation, winning trial advocacy competitions across the United States.
After law school, Zachariah served the people of Pinellas County as an Assistant State Attorney and handled thousands of cases ranging from DUI and drug offenses to domestic violence, firearm/weapons charges, and murder. Zachariah has training and education that is relatively uncommon for defense attorneys, as he has attended seminars and certification courses exclusive to law enforcement. As a prosecutor, Zachariah was a member of the Traffic Homicide Unit and was the lead, on-scene, Assistant State Attorney during multiple DUI manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide investigations.
Zachariah also worked as an Advocacy Skills Trainer with Stetson Law, where he trained future lawyers to compete in the same competitions he won as a law student. Stetson Law School later hired him as an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy, and he spent several years teaching young lawyers the art of courtroom advocacy and communication.
During his career, Zachariah has served on the Executive Board for the Barney Masterson Inn of Court and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Clearwater Bar Association. He is also a member of the Pinellas County Trial Lawyers Association and the Pinellas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He has been awarded the Marc L. Levine Award for Leadership, “The Rock” award for exceptional service to the community, the “Golden Tie Award” for success in trial, and the “Rising Prosecutor of the Year” award for exemplary integrity, fairness, and professional ethics as a prosecutor.
Clients praise Zachariah for his hard work, communication, accessibility, genuine demeanor, and stellar results. As a Senior Associate with the Law Offices of Marc N. Pelletier, Zachariah handles each case with a high level of experience and precision.
