Elissa represents corporate clients in forming business entities, maintaining corporate formalities, real estate development, sales and acquisitions. Her practice also includes assisting individuals and families in real estate transactions, estate planning matters (wills, trusts, powers of attorney), and probate, including guardianships and conservatorships. Elissa received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism and mass communication from the Walter Cronkite School at Arizona State University. During graduate school and prior to entering law school, she worked as a legal assistant in the areas of estate planning, real estate and business law. In 2012, Elissa received her juris doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law, completing an individualized concentration in Family and Small Business Estate Planning.
Work Experience
Founding Member, Hodges Law, PLC, 2019
Founding Member, Gray, Hodges & Associates (formerly, Gray, Thompson & Associates), 2016-2018
Co-Chair, Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., Estates, Wills & Trusts Practice Group, 2014-2015
Co-Chair, Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C. Associate Professional Development Committee, 2015
Associate Attorney, Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., 2012-2015
Admissions, University of Nebraska College of Law, Sept. 2010 - May 2012
Law Clerk, Law Offices of Glen D. Witte, Summer 2011
Legal Assistant, Nearhood Law Offices, P.L.C., Nov. 2005 - July 2009
Professional Activities and Affiliations
Mid-Iowa Estate and Financial Planners
Member, 2014 - present
Board of Directors, 2016 - 2018
Ankeny First United Methodist Church
Endowment Committee, 2018 - present
Kirkendall Public Library Foundation
Board of Directors, 2016 - present
American Bar Association. Member
Iowa State Bar Association
Section Member: Real Estate & Title Law, Probate, Trust & Estate Law, 2012 - present
Member, Guardianship and Conservatorship Committee, Probate, Trust & Estate Law, 2014 - 2019
Co-Chair, Guardianship and Conservatorship Committee, 2016 - 2019
Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys
Polk County Women Attorneys
Civic & Volunteer Activities
Ankeny Chamber of Commerce
Ankeny Young Professionals
Ankeny Leadership Institute, Class of 2016 Graduate
Heart of America Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Class of 2019 Member
Iowa Academy of Trust and Estate Counsel, Member
Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity
Volunteer, Meals for the Heartland
Uptown Ankeny Association