ABOUT

I am an experienced attorney with a private practice devoted to representing clergy of all faiths in employment matters. My representation of clergy in employment matters includes contract negotiations, contract renewal, and termination of contracts for clergy employed at synagogues, day schools, Federations, JCCs and other nonprofits.

My involvement in the clergy community in the Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Orthodox movements has lead me to professional relationships with many Rabbinic and Cantorial organizations; I speak to students and clergy to provide guidance and counsel on strategies for next steps in their careers. I have participated in programming and speaking engagements at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, CCAR, and Cantor’s Assembly.

I have spent my life surrounded by rabbis - Conservative, Reform and Orthodox - and have a unique appreciation of their life’s work and pressures. I’m the daughter of Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, z’l, sister of Rabbis Levi Weiman-Kelman and Naamah Kelman, and the granddaughter of Rabbi Felix Alexander Levy, z’l (a Reform Rabbi in Chicago) and Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kelman, z’l (an Orthodox rabbi in Toronto). I was immersed in Jewish life as a child, attending both Jewish Day School, and Jewish youth group and summer camp. As an adult, I have been active in my synagogue, participating on committees and creating programming.

Growing up in New York City, our Friday night table was filled with clergy of many faiths, writers, musicians, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, and public figures. There was always a lively discussion that represented a plurality of ideas and opinions. It was a unique incubator for critical thinking and analysis for my siblings and me.

Most recently, I was a member of the faculty of Saint Louis University School of Law. Prior to this appointment, I practiced in the public and private sectors including the Manhattan DA’s office and the Anti-Defamation League. My experience in the private sector included positions at law firms in New York and St. Louis.. As a litigator in private practice, I represented clients in mediations and arbitrations as well as in trials.

I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, cum laude, with a B.A. in Public Policy and earned my J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. I am admitted before the courts of New York, Missouri, and the United States Supreme Court.

I can be reached at abby@kelmanlawfirm.com or at 314.504.7788.