South side native Keli L. Knight knew from a pretty early age that practicing law would be in her future, With a Bachelor’s degree from Lewis University and her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, she has worked hard to see her dreams come to fruition while doing what she loves in service of others.
She began her legal career as a hearing officer/attorney for one of three Commissioners at The Cook County Board of Review, hearing complaints and making recommendations for property tax reductions and exemptions for residential, commercial, and government-owned properties. After her time at The Board of Review, Keli worked as an associate attorney in a private real estate law firm before striking out on her own.
Today, Knight is thriving as one of the founding partners of KMR Law Group with areas of expertise including Corporate Formation and Counseling, Evictions, Real Estate Transactions, and Trademark and Copyright Registration.
Outside of her practice, she is a devoted wife and mother, esteemed member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and proudly serves on the board of directors for the South Side YMCA.
N’DIGO recently sat down with Knight to talk about her career beginnings, the unusual origin story of KMR Law Group, and the prejudices she often faces as a black woman attorney that often come from other Black people.
N’DIGO: In your own words, who is Keli L. Knight?
Keli L. Knight: I am a Black woman from the South Side of Chicago. A daughter, wife, mother, best friend, sister and entrepreneur. I’m witty, loyal, creative, loving, fearless, adventurous and driven. And I happen to be a lawyer.
How did you discover you wanted to be an attorney? Is it something you always knew or did you dream of being something else first?
Other than a short stint in college when I thought I would want to be a psychologist (I majored in Psychology in undergrad), I’ve wanted to be an attorney since I was little. One of my parents (I was probably five years old, so I don’t remember which one) suggested I would make a good attorney because I’ve always loved to argue.
Please tell us all about KMR Law Group?
KMR is a Black women owned real estate firm that specializes specifically in real estate closings in the Chicagoland area. We started back in 2012 after (founding partner) Yondi Morris tweeted in frustration that she needed to start her own law firm after a particularly demoralizing incident at her then firm. I responded to her immediately and the ball got rolling from there. Since then, we’ve grown from three attorneys to five with four paralegals.
As a law firm owned and operated by black women, what are some of the obstacles you’ve faced in regards to people having prejudices or feeling as though they’d be better off with white attorneys and agents?
I know that there are some people of color who believe a good lawyer can only be a White man – maybe even specifically a Jewish man because of certain stereotypes – and that person will go out of his or her way to hire a White attorney. However, I think the more common issue is that Black people may not always know of a Black attorney to reach out to and their network may not know of one to refer. When you consider the fact that only 5% of attorneys in the country are Black (and this number has not changed in the past 10 years), it somewhat makes sense. There are professionals (for example, loan officers and real estate agents) who are often called upon to suggest attorneys for buyers and sellers to retain for their closings. If those professionals are even just one generation older than me, they would likely have had an even more difficult time suggesting a Black attorney as the percentage of Black attorneys back in the day would have been even lower than five. So what we see now is that these older professionals are keeping those White attorneys in their referral network, even though now Black attorneys are a bit easier to come by.
Is it a double sting or slap in the face when you come across that prejudice from black people?
It most definitely is. I just recently met with the mayor of a village in the South Suburbs and he mentioned wanting to bring in other attorneys and firms to handle some of the village’s legal work because right now the village’s attorney is Irish (yet 87% of the village’s residents are Black). He mentioned having made the point to that attorney, “Can you imagine a Black attorney being called upon to handle all of the legal work for a group of Irish people?” The answer is clearly no, because they would surely hire an Irish attorney – as would most other ethnic groups. And that is totally fine. For some reason, Black people have never looked out for each other in the same way. So, when I think about those older real estate professionals who are still referring their clients to white attorneys, I totally understand how they got there, but I don’t understand why they’re still there. Maybe it takes some intentionality to find Black attorneys and maybe it requires leaving the comfort zone of working with someone that you’ve worked with for years, but how could you not if it means keeping business in our communities, the way everyone else always has for their own?
How do you navigate the seemingly increasing importance of having a social media presence both personally and professionally?
It’s my latest struggle! For people who know me, I am an open book. But, to strangers, I’m very private. I’m learning that people want to do business with you based largely in part on how friendly and approachable you are and if there seems to be any relatability. So, for me to only post on social media about real estate and law and my business…that’s just not gonna cut it. I get it. But it’s tough. I’m really trying though!
It seems as though a lot of people believe the market is in bad shape at the moment, but you think otherwise. Can you talk a little about why this may actually be a good time to buy?
When the interest rates were super low, we were seeing properties flying off the market. Lines for open houses were around the block. Buyers were writing desperate love letters to sellers, essentially begging them to accept their offers. Buyers were paying tens of thousands over asking price, with no inspection/repairs – it was literally the Wild West. So now, even though interest rates are higher (and they’ve already gone down a little since the initial spike), it has really served to level things out. Buyers now have a fighting chance at paying what the property is really worth, having the opportunity to conduct due diligence and make reasonable requests of the sellers to make repairs, and being afforded a reasonable amount of time to close.
What are three principles or ideals you try to abide by in your business dealings?
I’m always honest and transparent, I return phone calls and I explain things to my clients in verbiage they can understand.
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m shy. People think I’m standoffish, but it’s really a defense mechanism.
Favorite quote or affirmation?
“There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.” – Malcolm X
What’s next for Keli L. Knight and KMR Law Group?
The goal is always more: more attorneys so that we can serve more clients and more charitable efforts so that we can serve our communities.
For more information on Keli and KMR Law Group, please visit www.kmrlawgroup.com and follow their Instagram page : @kmrlawgroup
