Education Law
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Elizabeth A. Kaleva is from Missoula, Montana, where she graduated from Loyola Sacred Heart High School in 1987. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Boston College in 1991. Bea graduated from the University of Montana School of Law in 1995 and, after graduation, clerked for a judge for year before joining the Montana School Boards Association as a staff attorney. She rose to the General Counsel position and remained with the MTSBA until 2004, when she returned to Missoula in private practice. Bea serves as counsel for school districts in all areas of employment and school law. Specific practice areas include: contract negotiations, employee misconduct and discipline, student misconduct and discipline, special education and federal programs, and Board of Trustees practice and procedure. She provides litigation defense to school districts and their employees in federal and state courts, arbitrations, and administrative agencies relating to all aspects of school district operations. Bea is admitted to practice before all Montana courts, the United States District Courts, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the National Council of School Attorneys, the Montana Council of School attorneys, a former Board member of the National Council of School Attorneys and is the President of the School Law Section of the Montana State Bar. She has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America since 2014 for the areas of education law and employment law, and was named the Best Employment Law Lawyer for the Missoula area in 2015, 2019, and 2022. In 2021, Elizabeth was honored with the AV Preeminent® Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®. This rating is the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards Contact info:[email protected] Click here to visit website
Larry Bailey
Elizabeth Kaleva handled the sale of my family's small farm property in Jacksonville. Her general practice background was evident; she was clearly knowledgeable about the local real estate statutes and the specific zoning issues we faced, which I appreciated given her Montana roots and understanding of rural property. The historical research skills from her Boston College degree seemed to translate into thorough document review. However, the experience felt somewhat uneven. While the legal work was solid and the outcome was fine, there were periods where communication lagged. Responses to emails sometimes took several days, and I wasn't always proactively updated on minor filing deadlines, which created some unnecessary anxiety. For straightforward matters, her competence is not in question, and her local familiarity is a definite asset. My expectations for a more collaborative and communicative process, however, weren't fully met. She is a capable attorney for basic legal needs in the area, but I would set clearer expectations about response times at the outset of any future engagement.
