About
Elizabeth Kelley is a criminal defense attorney with a national practice focused on representing people with mental disabilities, and a longtime board member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
She has edited a series of American Bar Association guides on defending clients with autism, dementia, and other conditions, and joined the White Collar Conference to speak about dignity in the justice system.
At the White Collar Conference
Elizabeth Kelley spoke as a defense attorney about how lawyers should raise mental health with white collar clients, with respect and with an understanding of how violated people feel during a prosecution. She urged people under investigation and their families to seek help, and closed with the swimmer Diana Nyad's advice on healing.
“You do need to reach out for help, not only for your own welfare, but it will empower and enable your lawyer to best help you.”
Watch at 22:58
“If you as the person who is incarcerated feel isolated, so too does your family.”
Watch at 23:32
“Yes, connect with support groups. Yes, mobilize your family. Yes, have the hope and the conviction that you are going to get through this.”
Watch at 36:59
Chapters
- 0:00 Bill Baroni opens the panel
- 2:03 Erika Cheung on blowing the whistle and the isolation that followed
- 5:56 Erika Cheung on asking for help
- 11:03 Seth Williams on going from elected office to solitary confinement
- 17:07 Seth Williams on RDAP and learning from other inmates
- 20:53 Elizabeth Kelley on isolation, mental health and her clients
- 28:31 Erika Cheung on making tomorrow a little better
- 32:32 Seth Williams on Chuck Colson's "Born Again"
- 34:20 A few words for someone who feels isolated
- 36:29 Elizabeth Kelley's closing advice
With Bill Baroni (moderator), Erika Cheung and Seth Williams
Join us in fall 2027.
The fourth annual White Collar Conference is planned for fall 2027, virtual on Zoom and open to all.