Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English and a minor in Music, and proceeded from there to attend the UC Davis School of Law, where she received her juris doctorate in 2010.

After law school, Kelley did a one year fellowship at the Pacific Justice Institute, during which time she was approached by her first client, the copyright holder of a New York Times bestselling fantasy series. After the successful resolution of the case, she opened her own law firm.

Kelley is a member of:

• The California State Bar, including the Section of Intellectual Property Law
• The American Bar Association, including:
  1. ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law
  2. General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division
  3. ABA Forum Committee on Entertainment and Sports Industries
• The Contra Costa County Bar Association, including:
  1. The Estate Planning and Probate Section
  2. The Intellectual Property Section
  3. The Solo and Small Firm Section
• Christian Legal Society
• Bay Area Independent Publisher’s Association (BAIPA)
• Estate Planning Council of Diablo Valley
• American Christian Fiction Writers
• West Coast Christian Writers

When Kelley is not practicing law, she spends her time reading, knitting, singing, and spending time with her family. She also enjoys learning new languages; currently she’s studying Japanese, and she passed the advanced beginner level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (a.k.a. the JLPT N4) in 2022.

Publications:

“Copyright Termination Act in 2015 – Year in Review” – New Matter magazine, Spring 2016
“Intellectual Property and Estates: Where Creativity and Planning Intersect” – Trusts and Estates Quarterly magazine