A Rock Hill native, Chad graduated in 1998 from Clemson University. He received his law degree in 2002 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was a member of the South Carolina Environmental Law Journal. Following law school, Chad was a law clerk for the Honorable John C. Hayes III in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina.

Before forming Frost Echols, LLC with Mike Frost, Chad owned and ran The Echols Firm, LLC for over 10 years. Chad began his work in the credit and collection industry serving as Vice President and General Counsel for Williams & Fudge, Inc., a national student loan collection agency located in Rock Hill, SC. He continues to serve as outside general counsel to Williams & Fudge, Inc.

Chad’s practice focuses on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, compliance for collection agencies and debt purchasers, business law, litigation, and commercial collections. Chad is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association. He also serves as a member of the Fee Dispute Resolution Board of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit for the South Carolina Bar.

Chad serves on the Board of Governors for the Come-See-Me Festival, the Board of YMCA Camp Cherokee, the Board of Managers for the Anne Spring Close Greenway, and the Board of Trustees for Clinton College. In addition to Chad's civic activities, he enjoys time with his family, fly fishing, and pulling for the Clemson Tigers.

Chad has considerable experience in all areas associated with defense and compliance regarding pre-default and post-default debt collection and practices. He has experience in the following areas:

• Federal and State Trial and Appellate Representation
• Construction Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Arbitration and Mediation
• Banking and Financial Services Litigation

Chad is an active member of ACA International, the Association of Credit, and Collection Professionals. His contributions include:

• Professional Collections Specialist Certificate since 2005
• 2006-2008 Members’ Attorney Program (MAP) Committee
• 2008-2009 MAP Committee Chairperson
• 2009-2011 ACA Board of Directors
• 2011-present South Carolina State Legislative Chair
• 2011-present South Carolina MAP State Chair
• 2012-2013 ACA Industry Defense Task Force Committee
• 2013 ACA Scholar Designation
• Collection Notice Review (CNR) Panel
• Unit Secretary/Treasurer for the South Carolina Collectors Association

Bar and Court Admissions

• State of South Carolina
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

Representative Matters

• Hekel v. Hunter Warfield, Inc., 118 F.4th 938 (8th Cir. 2024)
• Baker v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc., 0:17-CV-02364, 2018 WL 3109667 (D.S.C. Jun. 25, 2018)
• Avilia v. Reliant Sols., LLC, 2:18-CV-2718, 2018 WL 5982488 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2018) - Local Representation by Barron & Newburger, P.C.
• Swann v. Dynamic Recovery Sols., LLC, 4:18-CV-01000 (N.D.Al. Nov. 28, 2018) - Local Representation by Burr Forman, LLP
• Smith v. Dynamic Recovery Solutions LLC, Case No. 2:19-cv-00135-DCN, 2019 WL 2368460 (D.S.C. Jun. 5, 2019)
• Avila v. Reliant Capital Solutions, LLC, Case No. 2:18-cv-02718-ADS-ARL, 2019 WL 2359386 (2d Cir. Jun. 4, 2019)
• Cabrera v. Dynamic Recovery Solutions, LLC, Case No. 8:18-cv-2900-MSS-TGW, 2019 WL 4411875 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 14, 2019)- Local Representation by Golden Scaz Gagain, PLLC
• Jones-Bell v. Dynamic Recovery Solutions, LLC, Case No. 2:18-cv-13634-TGB, 2019 WL 4746766 (E.D. Mich. Sep. 30, 2019) (for Dynamic Recovery Solutions, LLC only)- Local Representation by Malone Frost Martin PLLC and Dobbs & Neidle, P.C.
• Yoo v. Dynamic Recovery Solutions, LLC, Case No. 2:19-cv-21601-SDW-LDW (D.N.J. Feb. 26, 2020) - Local Representation by Barron & Newburger, P.C.
• Ruffin v. Dynamic Recovery Solutions, LLC, Case No. 5:20-cv-272, 2020 WL 6134666 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 19, 2020)- Local Representation by Golden Scaz Gagain, PLLC
• United Resource Systems, Inc. v. Wilson, 614 F.Supp.3d 243 (D.S.C. 2022)

Education

• Clemson University (B.S.)
• University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D.)

Personal/Community Involvement

Chad is involved in the following Associations and Civic Activities:

• Professional Collections Specialist Certificate 
• South Carolina State Legislative Chair
• South Carolina MAP State Chair
• ACA International Judicial Committee
• Collection Notice Review (CNR) Panel
• Association of Credit and Collection Professionals
• Unit Secretary/Treasurer for the South Carolina Collectors Association
• South Carolina Bar Association
• Fee Dispute Resolution Board of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit for the South Carolina Bar
• Board of Governors for Come-See-Me Festival
• Board of YMCA of the Upper Palmetto
• Advisory Board for YMCA Camp Cherokee
• Board of the York County Clemson Club
• Board of Managers for the Anne Spring Close Greenway
• Board of Trustees for Clinton College