Michele L. Stocker is a commercial litigator with a broad range of experience representing clients in the financial services industry including local and national banks, consumer finance companies, mortgage bankers, credit card companies, and third-party debt collectors. She also regularly advises clients in employment-related matters involving discrimination, harassment, severance agreements, restrictive covenants, and wage and hour issues.
Areas of Concentration
· Fair Credit Reporting Act
· Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
· Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z
· Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices
· Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
· Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices
· Loan Origination and Servicing Issues
· Contested Mortgage Foreclosures
· Consumer Fraud
· Identity Theft
· Predatory Lending
· Force-Placed Insurance
· Employment Discrimination
· Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment
· Non-Competition/Restrictive Covenant Agreements
· Wage and Hour Issues
· Class Action Defense
Professional & Community Involvement
· Member, American Bar Association
· Member, National Bar Association
· Board Member, Intercoastal Division, Children's Home Society of Florida
· Board Member, Crockett Foundation
· Circuit Civil Mediator, Florida Supreme Court
· State of Florida Compliance Chair, American Collectors International, 2005-2010
Awards & Recognition
· Listed, Florida Trend magazine "Legal Elite," Employment Law (2012)
· Recipient, "2012 Glass Ceiling Award," The Florida Women's Conference - National Diversity Council (March 2012)
· Recipient, "Love For Literacy Gala Honoree," Love for Literacy Gala, Crockett Foundation Inc. (March 2012)
· Team Member, Law360 "Employment Practice Group of the Year" (2011)
· Listed, Business Leader magazine "South Florida's Women Extraordinaire" (2011)
· Listed, "South Florida's 100 Most Accomplished Black's in Law" ICABA (2009)
· Profiled, Who's Who in Black South Florida, "South Florida's Most Influential" (2007)
· Rated, AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
· Speaker, "Perceptions of Assertive Women," South Florida Women in Leadership Symposium, Florida Diversity Council, October 7, 2011
· Speaker, American Institute Residential Mortgage Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Conference, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011
· Author, "The Changing Landscape of the Business Records Exception under Florida Law and its Impact on Florida Foreclosures," GT Alert, 2011