DAYTONA BEACH — William "Bill" Michael Chanfrau Sr., founder of the law firm Chanfrau & Chanfrau whose billboards can be seen throughout Volusia and Flagler counties, has died. He was 78.
Chanfrau died on Aug. 23 at a hospital in Akuryeri, Iceland, after suffering injuries from a fall and then contracting pneumonia. He was there on a cruise with his wife Muffi and two friends from high school.
Chanfrau grew up in Daytona Beach where his family has been in the legal profession nearly a century. After a stint in the Navy where he rose to the rank of lieutenant, he earned his law degree from Stetson University and worked three years at other firms before opening his own practice in 1976. It was renamed Chanfrau & Chanfrau the next year when his older brother Phillip joined the firm. The practice today specializes in personal injury, wrongful death and employment law and is run by his son Bill Jr. and daughter Kelly.
"My brother and I modeled our careers after him," said Kelly Chanfrau of their father. "His spirit for justice and service to others is unmatched."
Chanfrau was president of the Volusia County Bar Association in the early 1980s. He was honored in 1982 by the Florida Bar Association with a pro bono service award for starting the Volusia County Service Project to provide free legal assistance to the poor. He became founding president of the Volusia County Civil Trial Attorneys Association in 1989. He was recognized twice with the...
Russian propaganda is spreading false statements that the account of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, was allegedly created with...