Attorney Kelly Elmore is a Principal at KSN who advises condominium, homeowner (HOA), and townhome community associations on all aspects of corporate law including: association contracts, amendments to declarations and by-laws, covenant violations/rule enforcement, the architectural review process, the special assessment process, board elections, assessment collection, foreclosures and bankruptcy issues, developer turnover, construction defect disputes, and contract review.
Kelly is also a member of the firm’s Litigation Department. As an active trial lawyer for over seventeen (17) years, Kelly focused on representing and defending condominium, homeowner (HOA), and townhome community associations in various court actions ranging from state court to federal court. Kelly has represented condominium, townhome, and homeowner associations in cases brought against Board members for breach of fiduciary duty and violation of state law from owners. Kelly has also represented community associations in cases against developers for defective construction. Additionally, she prosecutes covenant and rule violations on behalf of associations, enforces the payment of assessments, and represents Associations in various housing discrimination matters.
Kelly is the Chair of the firm’s Deconversion Department and advises condominium associations on the complex process of condominium termination or deconversion (“Section 15 sale”). In this process, a buyer or developer purchases a condominium property and removes the property from the provisions of the condominium regime, often converting the property into apartment rentals. Considered by many in the industry to be the leading authority in the deconversion process, Kelly is a regular guest speaker and panelist for various industry lectures, seminars and panel discussions. Notably, Kelly has recently been featured in a number of leading Chicago publications on this topic, including the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Gazette, and The Real Deal. Kelly has been a frequent lecturer for Strafford Publications on the topic of deconversions throughout 2022-2023.
Kelly has extensive experience defending condominium associations from actions brought before the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the City of Chicago Commission on Humans Rights, as well as building code violations brought before the City of Chicago.
Kelly is the author of a number of publications for various community associations, including: CAI (Community Association Institute), ACTHA, and Common Interest Magazine. In addition, Kelly is a frequent lecturer and guest panelist on various association issues for annual CAI legal forums and tradeshows for Indiana and Illinois, ACTHA tradeshows/educational programs, the Cooperator Expo, and the Chicago Property Management Condo & HOA Expo.
Kelly was selected as a 2017 and 2018 Illinois Emerging Lawyer, identified by her peers to be among the top lawyers in Illinois who are age 40 or under and who have proven themselves to be professional, ethical, and experienced at an early point in their legal career. Kelly served as a Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers' Section Real Estate Law Committee (2011-2015); as a member of the Chicago Bar Association Condominium Law Subcommittee (2006-2023); and as a member of the Association of Condominium, Townhouse & Homeowners Associations (ACTHA) Legislative Committee (2008-2018).
Kelly was elected to the Board of Directors of the CAI Central Indiana Chapter in 2020, where she was elected as the President-Elect (2021-2022), and President of the Chapter (2021-2022). Kelly serves as the Chair for the Golf Committee for CAI Indiana (2022-2023). In 2022, Kelly was elected Chair of the CAI Indiana Legislative Action Committee (2022- 2023) where she is actively engaged in drafting legislation intended to shape the laws for Indiana HOAs and community associations.
