KCMBF’s Military Matters is proud to shine the February #ProBonoSpotlight on Nathalie C. Elliott, of Levy Craig Law Firm, A Professional Corporation .
Nathalie has been a dedicated volunteer with the Military Matters program since it began accepting referrals in 2016. One of her colleagues at Levy Craig Law Firm attended the first volunteer recruitment event and came back to the firm encouraging their lawyers to join. Nathalie highlighted that Levy Craig Law Firm is very committed to doing pro bono work, and she enjoys being able to accept referrals in her main areas of practice.
Working with Military Matters is just one of the pro bono programs Nathalie has volunteered with during her legal career. She recalled a particular referral that highlights why she’s always done this work: a veteran who had recently successfully completed Veterans Treatment Court and wanted to gain custody of his daughter. Nathalie says, “You go into family law to help people, and you meet amazing people. Seeing that family from the beginning of not knowing what their rights were, all the way to the final hearing when this father got custody of his daughter was amazing.” Nathalie has personal ties to the military as her father was a veteran.
Nathalie began her legal career as a paralegal following her undergraduate studies. After several years, she attended UMKC School of Law to become a lawyer. She began working at a large law firm in Kansas City, and several years later had a friend tell her she would be a good fit for the young, progressive firm Levy Craig. In her interview with Levy Craig, Nathalie found she would have to split her time between both commercial litigation (what she had been practicing to date) and family law. She had sworn in law school she would never go into family law.
She agreed to practice family law part-time for six months, and if she didn’t enjoy it she could switch out of that practice area. After six months, Nathalie switched full-time to family law and hasn’t looked back.
Outside of practicing law, Nathalie is a single mom who loves to travel with her adopted son, Christian. Christian is graduating from high school in May of this year, and is looking forward to attending Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO next fall where he can explore his love for hiking. Nathalie also loves to cook and to entertain.
Nathalie has been involved in volunteer pro bono projects throughout all of her career. “It’s part of why you should be a lawyer, to help people. In my area of law in particular, every family is touched by a family law issue at one time or another.” She especially enjoys the Military Matters program through the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation, as Military Matters has provided support for referrals when needed in the past.
Thank you, Nathalie, for your dedication to KCMBF’s #MilitaryMatters!
Please visit the KCMBF Facebook Page to see the original post about Nathalie's service to Military Matters.