Chemere Ellis is the President and Founding Partner of Chemere Ellis, PLLC. She focuses her practice on a wide range of commercial litigation, financial services litigation, and criminal defense matters. With over a decade of experience in the civil and criminal arena, Chemere is a seasoned litigator and trial attorney, and provides astute counsel and representation to individuals and corporations alike. Prior to establishing her law firm, Chemere was a commercial litigator at a premier Florida law firm. She represented individuals and corporations in business, contract, and trade secret disputes, broker-dealers and their associated persons in securities industry disputes, and appointed receivers in receivership proceedings.

Chemere also had the honor of serving the people of Florida as a prosecutor for Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit (Pinellas County), where she prosecuted all manner of cases, including first degree life felonies. Chemere has served as the lead trial attorney on over forty trials, most of them jury trials, and has advocated for her clients in state and federal court and before arbitral tribunals.

Chemere Ellis | Download vCard

Chemere is a leader in her industry and the community. She co-chairs the Securities Law Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association (HCBA), where she creates continuing legal education and other programming for securities law practitioners. Chemere was also elected as the 2024-2025 Vice President of the George Edgecomb Bar Association (GEBA), Tampa’s largest predominately African American bar association dedicated to fostering diversity and excellence in the legal community. For her contributions to the legal community, GEBA awarded Chemere its prestigious “Rising Star” award in 2023. Chemere is a 2023 graduate of the HCBA Leadership Academy, and the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar selected Chemere as a 2021-2023 Business Law Fellow, a prestigious title bestowed upon an elite group of young attorneys who exhibit leadership within the business law community.

Chemere earned her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she competed in the university’s oral advocacy competition and earned the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. Prior to attending law school, Chemere completed her undergraduate studies at Seton Hall University, where she achieved the magna cum laude designation while earning a Bachelor of Science degree with double majors in Finance and English. Chemere is licensed to practice law in Florida and the District Courts for the Middle, Southern, and Northern Districts of Florida.

Chemere and her husband reside in Tampa Bay and are parents to two energetic and curious boys. Together they enjoy travel, homecooked meals from Chemere’s home country of Jamaica, and most of all, connecting with friends and family near and far. 

Chemere’s experience includes a wide variety of civil and criminal litigation matters, including:

Civil: 

  • Commercial litigation
  • Financial services litigation
  • Contract disputes
  • Partnership disputes
  • Shareholder disputes
  • Restrictive covenants, such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements
  • Business torts
  • Defamation claims
  • Trade secrets
  • Receiverships

Criminal: 

  • Drug possession, sale, and trafficking
  • White collar theft and fraud
  • Violent crimes 
  • Murder and attempted murder
  • Sexual battery
  • Child abuse 
  • False reporting of a crime
  • DUI
  • Felonies and misdemeanors

Leadership and Awards

  • Co-chair: Securities Law Section, Hillsborough County Bar Association, 2023 – Present
  • Vice President: George Edgecomb Bar Association, 2024 – Present 
  • Rising Star Award: George Edgecomb Bar Association, 2023
  • Chair: Scholarship Committee, George Edgecomb Bar Association, 2022-2024
  • Member: Journal Committee, Florida Association of Women Lawyers
  • Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence: University of Iowa College of Law
  • Experiential Education Award: Seton Hall University
  • Magna cum laud: Seton Hall University

Education

  • J.D., The University of Iowa College of Law, 2011
  • B.S., Seton Hall University, 2008

Bar Admissions

  • Florida

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida