Offering high-quality, cost-effective representation to consumers throughout Maryland

Attorney Chelsea Ortega

Chelsea Ortega

  • Partner

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Practice Areas:

  • Consumer Protection
  • Personal Injury

Biography

Chelsea Ortega is a partner at the law firm of Santoni, Vocci & Ortega, LLC. She regularly defends consumers and brings affirmative claims for violations of Maryland’s consumer protection statutes and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in debt collection cases, including landlord/tenant cases, and predatory loans. Chelsea has been helping consumers who are being sued and harassed by debt collectors and debt buyers since 2012. Her practice also focuses on issues involving tenants’ rights, representing tenants who have been illegally locked out of their homes or lived in uninhabitable conditions She has obtained relief for those who have been cheated or the victims of fraud under Maryland’s consumer protection laws. Chelsea has brought and settled several class action cases against large property management companies, debt collectors, and auto finance companies. As part of her practice, she also assists the injured in their personal injury cases.

Education

  • University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, Baltimore, Maryland
    • J.D. - 2012
    • Honors: cum laude
  • Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
    • B.A. - 2008
    • Honors: With highest honors
    • Major: Crime, Law, and Justice

Bar Admission

  • Maryland, 2012
  • U.S. District Court District of Maryland, 2016
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 2018

Honors

  • The Daily Record's 2020 Leading Women
  • Civil Justice Network Member of the Year
  • Law Firm named Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service's Firm of the Year
  • Law Firm awarded Pro Bono Firm of the Year Award by Baltimore County Bar Association
  • Law firm honored with Law Firm Pro Bono Award by the Pro Bono Resource Center

Professional Associations

  • National Association of Consumer Advocates, Member, Current Maryland State Chair, 2012 to Present
  • Maryland State Bar Association, Member, 2012 to Present

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Volunteer Attorney with Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland in Consumer Protection Program, 2013 to Present
  • Volunteer Attorney with Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, Current Board Member, 2013 to Present
  • Maryland Legal Aid, Current Board Member, Present

Classes & Seminars

  • "Best Practices for Settlement of Plaintiff Cases", Maryland State Bar Association, 2020 to 2020
  • "Obtaining Significant Awards for Non-Economic Damages", Maryland State Bar Association, 2020 to 2020
  • "FDCPA Claims Arising from Landlord/Tenant Cases", National Consumer Law Center, 2020 to 2020
  • "Carceral Capitalism: Challenging the Profiteers of Money Bail in Maryland", Partners for Justice Conference, 2019 to 2019
  • "Discovery and Trial Preparation", Maryland Legal Aid, 2019 to 2019

Published Works

  • “Malack v. BDO Seidman, LLP: Gatekeepers Not So Conflicted in the Fraud-Created-the-Market Theory,” 7 J. Bus. & Tech. L. 387 (2012)

Past Positions

  • Williams & Santoni, LLP, Associate, 2012 to 2016