Instructor of Legal Research and Writing

Abigail Kelman has always known what she wanted to do with her life. And though it might be a bit unusual to know with such certainty at the age of 16, that’s just how it happened. “I knew in high school that I wanted to be a lawyer, and I never wavered from that decision,” says Kelman. Her certainty has an interesting origin, however. It came from a book.

“My father, who was a Rabbi, gave me Clarence Darrow for the Defense, and after I read it, that was it for me,” she recalls.

For this reason, Kelman says she never struggled with what she wanted to do for a living. Though interested in Jewish and secular law, she was quite sure that it was the field of public service that was right for her. Mostly because she was armed with the goal of wanting to “make the world a better place.”

She began her legal career in public service, as a prosecutor in the Office of the District Attorney of the County of New York, and also worked for a human rights organization. She then spent the next phase of her career in firms and corporations, and became more experienced in litigation. She moved to St. Louis in 1991, and had her first child just five weeks later. She started a legal career in St. Louis and had three more children along the way.

Kelman currently has a solo practice that focuses on employment issues and commercial litigation. Along her career path, she has been mentoring and teaching, working with students and young attorneys, and it’s something she has enjoyed a great deal. “Teaching is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, “ she says. “I want to be able to give law students the benefits of my varied career experience. I think I have a practical teaching style based on the fact that I’ve been a practicing attorney for over 20 years. Not only can I tell them what it’s like in the real world, but I can also communicate the real love I have for the law. I love my chosen career and I want my students to be able to love theirs too.”