Paul Reed is a Brandon attorney who was born and raised in Brandon. He has lived an eventful and successful life. He recently published a book, co-authored with Crystal Crawford, called The Other Side of the Law.
Reed’s book is an interesting one. The Other Side of the Law is the crazy, true story of how someone like this became one of the most successful lawyers in Tampa. In the book, you will find stories about Reed, including how he got a black eye, was tossed from a cab and got a kiss from a stranger all in one night. Per the book, what happens at Mardi Gras stays at Mardi Gras, unless you write a book about it.
Another time, Reed got chased by cops through an orange grove. The moral: cop cars do not drive well in sand. Reed also lived in a trailer park because as the book points out, it was safer than the murder apartment.
When asked if all of these things really happened to him, Reed said, “Yes. There are pictures to prove it in the book.” According to Reed, “The book is simply a tale of one boy growing up in a small town with a single mom, two brothers and making a success of himself but growing up just like everyone else.”
When asked why Reed wrote the book, he stated, “I always wanted to. My plan was to retire one day, go to a quiet little cabin in the woods and write the book. Given the world as we know it, retiring to the woods, so to speak, was probably never going to happen, so I decided to write the book now.”
As to his co-author, Reed explained, “Crystal is a friend of mine who has prior writing experience. We started writing the book in early 2022 and it was published and ready to go November 2022. On Fridays at 1:30 p.m., Crystal and I would talk via Zoom. I would tell her the stories in the book, she would take notes, ask me questions, and that is how it went.”
Reed added, “I have lived here for 59 years. A lot of the community knows me and can corroborate many of the stories. Even though I have been blessed by the Lord above, I am the same old kid in the book. Still down to earth, so to speak.”
