Attorney Chelsea D. Townsend
Chelsea D. Townsend joined the personal injury team of the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in 2024. She is a passionate advocate for her clients and has considerable experience in personal injury and workers’ compensation law.
The Value of Being Heard
Chelsea knew at a young age that she wanted to speak up for others. She recognized that while almost everyone was given a voice, not everyone had knowledge of how to use it. She decided early on that she would.
As the only child of hard-working parents in Durham, Chelsea had two outstanding role models who instilled within her motivation, respect for others, and a belief that she could do whatever she wanted. And she did – Chelsea became a multi-sport athlete who alternated frequently from basketball to soccer to volleyball to competitive dancing. She was also an inquisitive child who recognized right from wrong and knew that she wanted to be on the side of right.
North Carolina Educated
During college, Chelsea embraced being a committed Tar Heel and sought out many opportunities to expand her undergraduate experience at the University of North Carolina. She even added a new sport to her athletic resume and became a member of the UNC Women’s Varsity Rowing Team.
Chelsea also served as a CREED Mentor of the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy, a nationally acclaimed leadership development program in collegiate athletics where she honed her skills as a servant leader. She majored in Exercise & Sport Science with a concentration in Sport Administration, and she also served as a UNC Black Caucus Ambassador.
Chelsea flexed her academic muscles once again and attended Elon University School of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court and Mock Trial teams, a National Order of Barristers Dean’s Scholar, and a recipient of a North Carolina Bar Association Government and Public Sector Section Scholarship.
A Well-Rounded Legal Career
Chelsea gained invaluable experience as a Resident-in-Practice Student Attorney at the Wake County Public Defender’s Office in her third year of law school. She actively participated in all phases of misdemeanor/felony cases, from conducting pre-trial hearings to negotiating plea agreements to litigating cases for indigent defendants. She enjoyed helping those who needed assistance.
After receiving her law degree, Chelsea moved to Florida to combine her passion for athletics with her legal education. She worked as a Compliance Officer for the Amateur Athletic Union developing and implementing comprehensive legal strategies, policies, procedures, and training to ensure compliance with the law and manage legal risk. With the onset of COVID, Chelsea decided to return to her hometown of Durham to be near family, and she worked as a workers’ compensation defense attorney.
After representing insurance companies in workers’ compensation cases for several years, Chelsea recognized that she missed interacting with clients and being their voice. Now, she uses her “other side experience” as she strives to ensure that clients’ stories are told, and their rights are protected.
When describing Chelsea, Partner Jeremy Maddox said, “Her understanding of the insurance industry, combined with her unwavering commitment to justice, make her a formidable attorney for those who have suffered with a personal injury case.”
Off the Clock
Chelsea was born and raised in Durham, and while her foundation is here, she has a passion for traveling. She is an avid enthusiast of visiting South Africa and has volunteered time and energy at the nonprofit Just Grace in Langa, Cape Town doing whatever was needed – from cooking village meals to spreading hope and light through dancing and singing. She continues to work on her other passion project of sports equality through two nonprofits, Keep It PlayHER and BeyondFour.
In her downtime, Chelsea visits with her family, dances, reads, and volunteers, and in the near future, she intends to take up running and Zulu. On a day-to-day basis, she is centered on being good to those around her and leaving each place she visits a bit better than she found it.