Jeremiah S. Surface

Jeremiah is passionate about justice and providing excellent service to clients. He is a 2019 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and is charging into his first years of practice gaining experience in both transactional and litigation matters.

Jeremiah had the opportunity to work extensively with nonprofits in law school. He interned at the International Commission of Jurists in Nairobi, Kenya and spent time studying Alternative Dispute Resolution and International Business Transactions at Carlos III University in Madrid. Jeremiah started his second year of law school at the University of Washington and joined their prestigious Mediation Clinic. He became skilled at using alternative dispute resolution tactics to resolve financial disputes and helped settle several ongoing litigation matters. His diverse background in commercial, nonprofit, and dispute resolution law made him a great fit for the wide range of legal work done at Ellis, Li & McKinstry PLLC where he worked during the summer between his second and third year of law school. He expanded his interests into business law and human rights in his third year of law school and studied European Competition Law, International Business Contracts, and International Humanitarian Law at Roma Tre University in Rome, Italy. After returning from Rome, Jeremiah eagerly jumped into the University of Washington’s Student Legal Services program as a Rule 9 Legal Intern. He represented UW students dealing with personal injury, immigration, family, bankruptcy, criminal, and business law issues. After passing the Washington State Bar Exam in September of 2019, Jeremiah put his diverse scholastic and employment experience to work for the clients of ELM. ELM’s strong commitment to work with Seattle nonprofits and its broad areas of practice, and commitment to excellence make it a perfect fit for Jeremiah.