About Keith Doniphan
Keith Doniphan Elston earned his J.D. from Drake University Law School in 2002, where he studied litigation, dispute resolution, family law and elder law. The curriculum and clinics at Drake helped shape an early interest in courtroom work and client advocacy. He moved to Kentucky soon after and began building a practice grounded in family and civil matters.
Elston opened his own practice in 2007, operating as a sole practitioner under the Elston Law Office name. He handled a wide range of state-level matters and represented clients in family court, juvenile cases and civil litigation. In 2014 he served as Legal Director for the Kentucky Youth Law Project, Inc., a role that placed him at the intersection of juvenile advocacy and public-interest litigation. The post expanded his experience in representing young people in custody, education and dependency matters.
Throughout his career Elston has taken on court-appointed roles. He served as Guardian ad Litem and as court-appointed parents’ counsel in Fayette Family Court from 2006 to 2010. He performed similar duties in Anderson Family Court from 2009 to 2014. Those assignments gave him prolonged exposure to the procedural and substantive challenges in family and juvenile proceedings. He has also been active outside the courtroom. He was chairman of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky from 2009 to 2010.
Elston participates in bar governance and section leadership. He has been a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and the Louisville Bar Association since 2006. He joined the American Bar Association upon graduating in 2002. In KBA circles he has been a visible presence in the LGBT Law Section, serving as vice chair in 2017–2018, chair-elect in 2018–2019 and assuming the chair in 2019. Those roles involved organizing programming, shepherding section priorities and engaging members on developments in relevant law.
Cases in family court and juvenile matters form a substantial part of his background, alongside civil litigation and dispute resolution work. He has handled matters involving custody, guardianship, dependency and related procedural advocacy. His courtroom experience is matched by transactional and advisory work for individuals navigating family and elder-law concerns.
Today Elston practices from Elston Law Office, PLLC in Kentucky. His practice concentrates on family law, litigation, dispute resolution and elder law.
