Elizabeth “Lisa” Kelley
Tampa Personal Injury Attorney
Elizabeth Vinson Kelley is a trial lawyer and partner in the firm’s Tampa Office. She has been representing victims of medical negligence, auto accidents, premises liability, product defects, sexual abuse, and nursing home neglect and abuse for more than 27 years.
Ms. Kelley is admitted to practice in all State courts in Florida, as well as the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Ms. Kelley received her law degree, cum laude, from Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg in 1992. While at Stetson, Ms. Kelley was named as an academic excellence based Charles A. Dana Scholar, was employed by Stetson as a Research and Writing Teaching Fellow, earned a position on Stetson’s prestigious Moot Court Board for which she won the Best Brief Award at the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition in 1992, and was an advocate on Stetson’s ATLA Mock Trial Team, for which she and her partner won the 1991 state championship competition.
During law school and upon her admission to the Florida Bar, Ms. Kelley worked for the Tampa, FL, AV-rated firm of Yerrid, Knopik, & Valenzuela, P.A. There, she began an active trial practice in the areas of professional negligence, automobile negligence, product liability, wrongful death, maritime law, and premises liability. In 1994, Ms. Kelley joined the AV-rated firm of Annis, Mitchell, et al., P.A., and added commercial litigation to her continued personal injury trial practice. In 1996, Ms. Kelley opened a solo practice, which she merged with Michael J. Trentalange, P.A., in 1999. This allowed her to incorporate nursing home neglect and abuse into her practice. The following year, Ms. Kelley and Mr. Trentalange formalized the association and incorporated as Trentalange & Kelley, P.A., an AV-rated practice.
Ms. Kelley’s current practice is dedicated to assisting those with catastrophic injuries or monetary damages obtain justice. To that end, she has, along with Mr. Trentalange, successfully tried or settled hundreds of cases, including several in excess of $1 million. Her track record earned her acceptance into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, limited to attorneys who have tried or settled cases for or in excess of $1 million. To complement her practice and negotiating skills, Ms. Kelley became certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Certified Circuit Court Mediator in 2006 and began assisting other litigants in settling their personal injury claims.
She is a member of the Florida Bar, the Hillsborough County Bar, the American Association for Justice, and the Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association, for which she served as Secretary (2000-2002); on its board of directors (2000-2002, 2004-2006); and as the 2005-2006 Program Chair. In addition, Ms. Kelley has been a member of the Florida Justice Association, the former Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, since 1992. She served on its medical malpractice and nursing home task force for many years, and in 2002, Ms. Kelley was appointed to a one-year term on the board of directors.
Ms. Kelley has participated in the Tampa Bay community as a member of LAMPLighter’s since 2011 and served as its 2018 co-chair, and 2019 Chair for “Lights, Fashion, Hope, which raised over $98,000 benefitting Metropolitan Ministries and Joshua House. Additionally, she has been active in fund-raising and volunteering for the Gasparilla Music Festival, non-profit organization. Ms. Kelley also volunteers her time as a fundraiser for local charities such as St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Bay Area Legal Services, the Hillsborough Assistance and Resources Alliance (HARC), UPARC, Focus on Females, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, The Children’s Home of Tampa and several others. She was a proud third-generation member of the Association of Junior Leagues International, serving the Junior League of Tampa as its 2004-05 fund-raising co-chair, and on the 2004-05 board of directors. She was also a Daisy Girl Scout troop leader and has served on the Board of Directors for the Shell Point Homeowners Association for the past 16 years.