Chantel C. Wonder
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I’ve been the client, so I understand they have to pick their battles. That’s why I connect with each client early on to develop that trust and understand their goals. Are they looking to fight the fight because it's an important issue, or do they need to get this case handled quickly?

Chantel Wonder is an experienced litigator who works in consumer financial services, employment defense, and insurance. Her background is quite extensive, having represented clients in federal and state litigation, as well as class actions, appeals, and hundreds of bench trials.

Well-connected in the financial services industry, Chantel focuses her practice on debt buyer and mortgage work, with experience in credit cards, debt collection, bankruptcy, and the wide spectrum of financial services litigation. Many of her cases surround consumer protection litigation: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Florida Deceptive And Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUPTA), and Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA).

Chantel worked as in-house litigation counsel for a national debt buyer for eight years. There, she worked on the company’s many highly-contested cases.

In other outside counsel roles, Chantel handled litigation for clients ranging from homeowners associations (HOAs), owners, and developers in the real estate context to engineers, contractors, and design and trade professionals. These matters span from first-party property cases for floods, fires, and hurricanes to third-party insurance defense claims, as well as a litany of actions alleging construction defect and code defect, breach of contract, negligent security, and failure to perform management duties.

In the employment space, Chantel handles litigation surrounding wage and hour issues, equal employment, harassment, benefits, non-competes, breach of contract, torts, and accessibility issues.

Across her diverse practice, Chantel has always been there for her clients. She’s proudest of a note she received from one client saying: “Thanks for the practical advice and the pragmatic result.”

Industries

Services

Insights

  • Chantel Wonder: A Journey Through Diverse Legal Landscapes

    Of Counsel Chantel Wonder (Fort Lauderdale) was interviewed by Attorney At Law Magazine in "Chantel Wonder: A Journey Through Diverse Legal Landscapes."

  • Florida Litigator Chantel Wonder Joins McGlinchey

    McGlinchey Stafford is pleased to announce that Chantel Wonder has joined the firm's Financial Services Litigation practice group in Florida as Of Counsel. Resident in Tampa, Chantel is one of 33 attorneys McGlinchey has brought on in 2023 as part of a focused hiring effort to expand its highly integrated team of best-in-class attorneys.

presentations

  • "Debt Collection Litigation Developments," 2023 Consumer Finance Legal Conference, October 12, 2023
  • “The Offensive Playbook of Debt Collection Litigation Strategies,” Florida Creditors’ Bar Conference, Orlando, Florida, July 2023
  • "Pink Flamingos, or, Does the Plaintiff Have a Leg to Stand on Following TransUnion v. Ramirez," Fall 2022 NCBA, Tampa, Florida, 2022
  • "Topping the Charts: Recent Decisions on All the Top Playlists for Collection Professionals," National Creditors’ Bar Association Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, May 4, 2022
  • Speaker at the 2021 Conference on the New Florida Summary Judgment Standard
  • “What Does a Good Anti-Hunstein Case Look Like,” Accounts Recovery Livestream Channel, July 7, 2021
  • "Florida Small Claims Rules Changes for 2019 Cycle," 2020 Conference on Choice of Law
  • "Dissecting the Model Validation Notice and How it will Change Collection Letters,” AccountsRecovery.net, February 1, 2020
  • "Lessons Learned from Female and Minority Leaders, Litigators & Deal-Makers," Women in Law and Leadership Summit, Miami, Florida, March and October 2019
  • "Creative Litigation Strategies," Florida Creditors' Bar Association Conference, 2014

 

 

published articles

  • "Appeals Court Affirms MSJ For Contact Center in ADA Case," AccountsRecovery.net, March 8, 2021
  • "CFPB Releases Small Entity Compliance Guide For Debt Collection Rule," AccountsRecovery.net, February 1, 2021

Education

  • Stetson University College of Law (J.D., International Law Certificate, 2010)
  • Stetson University (B.A., Philosophy, 2007)
  • Magdalen College, University of Oxford (Philosophy, 2005)

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • Florida 2011
Court Admissions
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida

Affiliations

  • Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA) International 2023-present
  • Florida Small Claims Rules Committee 2017-2023; Vice-Chair 2022-2023
  • Florida Creditors’ Bar Association 2011-Present, Past President 2017-2018, Board Member 2016-2018
  • Hillsborough Bar 2017-Present
  • National Creditors Bar Association 2017-Present
  • Rotary of Pinellas Park Club Board Member 2016-Present, Treasurer 2016-2017, President 2020-2021

outside the office

Chantel spends a lot of time with her family and enjoys yoga, cooking, gardening, and renovating houses. She also loves to travel, having already visited 11 countries and counting.