Ashley Nelson-Raut a Meteoric Success: Judge for Yourself
Bress Raut Law
I95 BUSINESS
Apr 09, 2023
Legal + Transactions | Doing Business | Business Services
Ashley Nelson-Raut set a goal when she was 10 years old. She wanted to become a lawyer. A mere 20 years later, at the young age of 29, Nelson-Raut is a partner in the law firm Bress Raut Law.
Since she was a child in Dundalk, Maryland, Nelson-Raut says she knew her future career was in the legal profession. When she was nine years old, Nelson-Raut was adopted by her step-father. That first courtroom experience set her feet on a path that led to a burgeoning career as an attorney and business owner. Nelson-Raut recalls the kindness of the judge who presided over her adoption.
“I went into the courtroom with my mom, step-dad and the attorney who handled our case and the judge asked me what I wanted. He made me the star of the show,” she says, adding that she thought “how cool” it would be to be able to do that for someone.
She charted her course in the ensuing years. As a ninth-grade student, she participated in a prestigious summer law program through the University of Maryland. During the program, she worked for Circuit Court Judge David Young, now retired. Once again, Nelson-Raut’s life was influenced by a judge. He provided wisdom and encouragement that influenced her academic and professional career. Although Young no longer sits on the bench, she says he continues to play an important role in her life, serving as a mentor.
Nelson-Raut maintained a strong drive to succeed. At Eastern Technical High School in Essex, Maryland, she was a driven student, taking numerous advanced placement courses, allowing her to graduate high school with nearly two years of college credit. She completed her undergraduate work at Stevenson University in two years, all while working 25 hours a week as a paralegal. After graduation, she entered the University of Baltimore School of Law.
“I have always been headed toward an end goal,” Nelson-Raut says. “In high school, I wanted to get to college. In college, I wanted to get to law school. In law school, I wanted to get a good job. No matter where you come from, you can achieve all the things I’ve achieved. You just have to put your mind to it.”
Nelson-Raut took a position with a larger law firm, Pessin Katz Law, where she focused on estates and trust law. It didn’t take long before Nelson-Raut knew she wanted to strike out and hang up her own shingle. At the beginning of 2023, she and Kevin Bress formed Bress Raut Law in Bel Air, Maryland, a career move that allowed Nelson-Raut to provide estate and trust planning services to people from all economic walks of life. She and Bress are providing a niche service to clients in a more relaxed atmosphere, she says. Bress has been unwaveringly supportive of Nelson-Raut throughout her beginning years of being an attorney. The attorney she is today she says is as a result of her partner’s mentorship.
Opening a small law firm offers clients a personal and improved service, she explains. There is little overhead and Bress Raut is able to keep its fees affordable, something that Nelson-Raut says is important to her. As the first person in her family to graduate college, Nelson-Raut says she remembers her roots in Dundalk and doesn’t want legal services to be out of the reach of blue collar families.
“This has been about creating a life that I want, creating and cultivating a practice I want. That’s the best thing for my clients and for me. It’s a fulfilling lifestyle for me,” she says.
In addition to remembering her roots in Dundalk, Nelson-Raut also remembers her time at Stevenson University. She now serves as an adjunct faculty member, teaching estates and trust-focused classes and other courses. This allows her to share her knowledge and expertise with future attorneys, which is part of her way of giving back to the community.
“It’s important to help the next generation, although I’m not that much older than many of them,” she quips. “I want to help them get on the right path to find success in their own way.”
She also wants to provide support and encouragement for female students, to remind them to not be afraid to use their voice in business situations.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for things you want and deserve. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. The world is tough and I encourage them to speak up,” she says. “Even if you do hit obstacles in life, you have to be resilient and you have to overcome those obstacles and use them as motivation. If I stopped every time somebody told me I couldn’t do something, I wouldn’t be here.” I95 Content Marketing