Elissa R. Karim is an associate at Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP. Her practice focuses on civil litigation, including trust and estate disputes, fiduciary litigation, employment law, guardianship and conservatorship matters, and appeals. She is committed to hearing her clients’ stories, helping them solve complex problems, and navigating through conflict to thoughtful and just resolutions.

Prior to joining Samuels Yoelin Kantor, Elissa served as a Judicial Law Clerk with the Oregon Court of Appeals, first for The Honorable Josephine H. Mooney during the end of her service on the Bench, and then for The Honorable Ryan T. O’Connor, at the beginning of his service on the Bench.

Elissa earned her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2024 and earned her undergraduate degree in Politics from Cornell College in Iowa. During law school, she explored a wide range of legal areas and extracurriculars, including as Co-Director of the Green Business Initiative; a participant in Moot Court, Mock Trial, and the Business Law Clinic; and as a law clerk with the Oregon Water Resources Department and several environmental law nonprofits.

Before attending law school, Elissa worked in the nonprofit sector in San Francisco at Ploughshares Fund, a grantmaking organization that advances nuclear disarmament advocacy and policy in the foreign policy and national security fields.

Elissa is admitted to practice in Oregon and the District of Oregon.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending any time she can outdoors—hiking, camping, cycling, climbing, swimming—and in the company of her friends and family, often and preferably at the same time.