SPRINGFIELD — Christa Douaihy and Krista Ellis — two attorneys at Community Legal Aid, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services annually to more than 9,000 low-income and elderly households in Central and Western Mass. — have been recognized among Massachusetts’ top legal professionals.
Douaihy, coordinating attorney for Community Legal Aid’s Housing Unit, was recognized on Nov. 18 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of the 2025 Top Women of Law. According to the publication, the Top Women of Law event celebrates the achievements of exceptional women lawyers who are pioneers, educators, trailblazers, and role models.
Douaihy joined Community Legal Aid in 2022 as a seasoned litigator with diverse legal experience in New York and Massachusetts. She began her career in 2008 at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, where she advocated for the civil rights of people with disabilities in cases involving housing, employment, and family law. She went on to hone her legal expertise as a civil litigator and disability rights advocate at the Bronx Defenders and in private practice.
As coordinating attorney in Community Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Unit, she specializes in eviction defense, brings lawsuits under state and federal fair housing laws, provides community education and outreach, and mentors her colleagues. She serves as an adjunct professor at Western New England University School of Law, where she teaches the “Access to Justice” course.
“It is an immense privilege to work in the legal profession in Massachusetts,” Douaihy said. “We have a progressive tradition. We have dedicated judges who are committed to the rule of law and enhancing access to justice. We have a passionate bar who, along with community organizations, work tirelessly to address root causes of inequity and vindicate rights. I am proud to be among them.”
Ellis, coordinating attorney at Community Legal Aid, was honored as an emerging leader in the law by the Women’s Bar Assoc. (WBA) at the organization’s 2025 gala on Oct. 22. The WBA’s Emerging Women Leaders in the Law Award honors women attorneys who have demonstrated professional excellence or had a significant professional achievement in their first 12 years in the legal profession, and either promote the status of women in the legal profession or contribute meaningfully to the equal participation of women in a just society.
A graduate of American University Washington College of Law, Ellis has worked in Community Legal Aid’s Family Law Unit since 2019. She also recently graduated from the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. 2024-25 Leadership Academy.
Both Douaihy and Ellis are based in Community Legal Aid’s Springfield office and represent clients primarily in Western Mass.
*Note from MLAC: other attorneys at our grantee organizations were spotlighted as well, including, GBLS Family Law Unit Senior Attorney Kate Barry, and MLRI Executive Director Georgia Katsoulomitis.
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