Compton & Smith, P.A., For Family, Criminal & Personal Insury Law

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Neighborhood News correspondent

Attorneys RaeAnn Compton and Todd Smith first met two decades ago when both were new lawyers working as assistant state attorneys in Pasco County.

After going their separate ways, the pair teamed up again in 2017, knowing their skills, abilities, and personalities worked well together. They officially formed Compton & Smith, P.A., located in the New Tampa Professional Park off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Pebble Creek, representing clients in the areas of family, criminal and personal injury law.

RaeAnn has been in private practice since 2003, when she first opened Compton Law in Pebble Creek. Todd has been in private practice a similar amount of time. Both have worked with other partners and associates, and have hit their stride in the current partnership of the past five+ years.

“I love being partnered with RaeAnn,” says Todd. “I know her strengths and she knows mine.”

While one of them takes the lead on each case they handle, Todd estimates they work together on 99 percent of the cases in the firm, so they are able to share ideas and get a second expert opinion to benefit their clients.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he says.

“It’s great to have someone you trust to bounce things off of, someone who can cover for you for a day if you’re in court,” he says, “I think it’s worked out well for both of us and for our clients.”

Both are accessible to the firm’s clients and hands-on with their cases, but they’re just part of a team that RaeAnn calls, “small but strong.”

“We’re a small firm, and we always give 110% to each client,” she says.

“Each case is important to us.”

To be sure every client gets great communication and always has someone who can get them answers to their questions, RaeAnn explains that her firm assigns a specific paralegal to each client. That way, if the attorneys are tied up in court, deposition, or a mediation, the firm’s clients always have a “go-to person” available to help them.

One paralegal is RaeAnn’s daughter, Jessica, who joined the practice 15 years ago. The other is Joan, who has been with the firm for eight years.

“They are both very loyal and dedicated, and both are extremely hardworking,” says RaeAnn. “I would say they’re better than a lot of attorneys I deal with because they truly care about our clients.”

Pedro Rodriguez is a Wesley Chapel dad who retained Compton & Smith, and he agrees with RaeAnn’s claim. Not only was he thrilled with his representation by RaeAnn, but also the fantastic help he received from Joan, as well.

He retained Compton & Smith for what he thought would be a fairly simple divorce, but it ended up getting complicated and even going to trial.

“RaeAnn was phenomenal,” Pedro says. “She’s very knowledgeable in the law and in case studies, and she made sure that if I ever had an issue, she was available to me. I would call her personal phone to ask her what to do in a specific situation and she was very responsive and always pointed me in the right direction.”

At the end of the trial, Pedro ended up with his house and cars, no alimony payments, and sole custody of his son.

“I would definitely refer her to anyone going through a divorce,” he says.

RaeAnn understands how significant it is to help someone through such a momentous and difficult time.

“People are putting a very important part of their lives in our hands and trusting us,” she says, “and I don’t take that lightly. This is not just a paper file, it’s a person’s life. It could be (their) children’s lives.”

In addition to representing people during divorce, Compton & Smith handles other areas of family law, such as child support modifications, custody, visitation and paternity. The firm also represents clients who find themselves in legal trouble for criminal misdemeanors, felonies or DUIs, and also can help with personal injury and auto accident cases.

RaeAnn earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in political science from St. Leo University in Dade City, then earned her Juris Doctor degree from Stetson Law School in Deland. She passed the Florida bar exam in 2000, became an assistant state attorney for three years, then opened her private practice in Pebble Creek. She stepped away from that for a few years to partner with an attorney in Dade City, and when that attorney decided to run for judge in 2007, she returned to solo practice in Pebble Creek.

RaeAnn lives in Wesley Chapel with her husband, Jeff. The pair were high school sweethearts who grew up in Dade City and moved around while he was in the military. When Jessica was born, they returned back home to Pasco County and, when Jessica was 18, their son Hunter was born. Hunter is now a senior in high school and wants to follow in his mom’s footsteps and attend St. Leo University and become an attorney.

Todd is from a family of attorneys. His grandfather was a lawyer and his dad and two sisters are all attorneys in the Tampa Bay area. He graduated from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, then received his Juris Doctor degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law, also located in Jacksonville, in 2000. He then began working as an assistant state attorney, then opened a satellite office of his father’s practice, which is based out of St. Petersburg. After a few years, he went into private practice on his own.

He and his wife, Lisa, moved to New River in Wesley Chapel after he graduated and lived there until they recently moved to Dade City. They have three children — daughters Avery and Kendall, who are in high school, and son Colton, who is in middle school.

Because the attorneys are both deeply rooted in the community, they consider it a privilege to serve their neighbors in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. They are licensed statewide, so they can help in other counties outside of Hillsborough and Pasco, as well.

RaeAnn says it’s never a nine-to-five job for them.

“We make sure that everything that can be done for you, is done for you,” she says.

Compton & Smith, P.A., is located at 8905 Regents Park Dr., Suite 210, in the New Tampa Professional Park in Pebble Creek. For more information, visit ComptonandSmith.com, see the ad on pg. 42 or, to schedule a free consultation, call (813) 994-2026.