CKF Bids Farewell as Two Team Members Start Law School

The attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC are no strangers to the Indiana University McKinney School of Law. Now, two more employees will be added to their ranks, with legal assistant Chris Lee and content writer Maya Gray continuing their educations there in August.

Chris Lee’s Legal Assistant Experience Leads to Law School

Chris attended IU Bloomington for his undergraduate degree, majoring in Political Science, and preferred to stay within the IU system for his next degree. He has been a legal assistant at the firm for two years, taking the position to gain experience working at a law firm and help him decide if law school is the right fit. While he has enjoyed becoming familiar with the legal process, he believes that pursuing a career as an attorney is the next best step.

“I wanted to be able to make a concrete positive influence in people’s lives. It seemed like being an attorney was something I was capable of doing, and seemed like the best way to do that. And it’s a subject area that I’ve always had an interesting passion for,” Chris said.

How CKF Shaped Maya’s Law School Decision

Maya also earned her undergraduate degree at IU Bloomington, majoring in Journalism, and has been the firm’s first official content writer for the past year. When deciding where she wanted to take her career, she knew she wanted to keep writing, and her time at Craig, Kelley & Faultless provided her with an up-close look at law firms, opening her eyes to a potential future path. Overall, the firm’s family-oriented atmosphere and positivity deconstructed her stereotypical idea of lawyers and helped her ultimately choose to attend law school.

“I’ve kind of tossed the idea around since I was little. My dad had planned to go to law school and did well on the LSAT. Then it was bad timing because he had a bunch of little kids. I always knew that my brain worked very similarly to his. I’ve always been very literate. I’ve been good at writing and reading and talking….” Maya said. “But actually being here, seeing the everyday dynamics and making connections, made me realize that it’s something I do think I’m capable of, and something that can still be enjoyable, not just all work.”

Why IU McKinney School of Law Was the Right Choice

There were many factors both Chris and Maya considered when choosing IU for law school, including location, networking, and great opportunities outside of the classroom. The IU McKinney School of Law boasts many accolades, including being named Best for Practical Training in 2021 and Top School for Women leadership from 2024 to 2025 by preLaw Magazine. But the fact that nine of the 10 attorneys and other employees at Craig, Kelley & Faultless were enrolled in that program helped them make their decision.

Chris hopes to study business or real estate law, potentially in litigation or mediation. In another life, he believes he could have been a geologist, but thinks this interest may help in the future if he were to work for a business involved in that field, like Shell USA, Inc., where his grandfather worked. And while his time working at the firm may not help him in the geology field, he feels it has prepared him for what’s ahead.

How CKF Mentorship Helped Prepare Them for Law School

“As a person, I’ve matured a lot in the past couple of years, getting to see actual examples of litigation and cases and how attorneys handle stuff. That’s a big one. I think seeing how the attorneys operate—these are very successful attorneys—it’s been a good example to see,” Chris said.

On the other hand, Maya is keeping an open mind about what type of law she wants to pursue. Her background in journalism has led to an interest in media and entertainment law, but she also feels drawn to family and personal injury law. Regardless, Maya does not want to shut herself off from potential opportunities before exploring her options.

If not for law school, she would continue her journalism career, most likely in editing. Yet, her experiences at Craig, Kelley & Faultless have built up her confidence. Working with people planning to attend or who are in law school, as well as the attorneys who have been through it, has made the concept of becoming a lawyer more tangible for her. But more importantly, Maya feels the firm has positively influenced her idea of what this field is all about.

Breaking Stereotypes About Personal Injury Attorneys

“The biggest impact that the firm has had on me, specifically… at a personal injury law firm, is that people have greater capacity for empathy than I think we give them credit for. The attorneys here are extremely caring, and they really want these people’s lives to get back to somewhat normal. They’ll work on weekends, they’ll work long hours, they’ll do whatever it takes to help them. So again, the biggest thing is that it’s deconstructed that stereotype of what a lawyer looks like, and made me realize that they’re real, genuine people. They’re parents, they’re grandparents, they’re husbands and wives, and they see their clients also as real people. And honestly, they kind of become family, in some cases,” Maya said.

Craig, Kelley & Faultless is headquartered in Indianapolis and has offices in Indiana and an office in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm handles cases throughout the country and has attorneys licensed in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio and Iowa. Craig, Kelley & Faultless can be contacted at 1-888-253-5198 or through our Contact Form and additional information can be found at www.ckflaw.com, on Facebook or on LinkedIn.