Calyssa Zellars is an attorney, writer, researcher and strategist whose work lives at the intersection of law, legacy and culture. The daughter of parents from East Saint Louis, Illinois, and the Gullah community of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina she founded Louis Hilton to blend her love of history with a commitment to protecting stories, brands and reputations that matter.

EDUCATION

Calyssa is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. with honors in Public Policy Analysis, with minors in Spanish for the Professions and Journalism) and the University of Michigan Law School (J.D.). Calyssa also studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, in the fall of 2011, where she deepened her understanding of language, history and cultural preservation. In 2019, she returned to her alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, as the Commencement Speaker for the Department of Public Policy.

CAREER

Her career spans mergers & acquisitions at Honigman LLP, advising private equity funds; criminal defense as Chief Counsel for Impact Litigation at the Decarceration Collective, where she freed two men serving life under outdated drug laws; and political strategy at Color of Change, where she led winning campaigns in Chicago and Flint. In sports and entertainment, she worked in marketing and managed corporate communications for the Detroit Lions, including the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl. She was also a Challenge Detroit fellow, an urban revitalization fellowship focused on civic impact. She later advised municipalities, law firms, and cultural institutions on complex reputational matters at BerlinRosen, and co-founded Saint Park LLP, leading its crisis management practice.

LOUIS HILTON LAW

Today, as Founder & Managing Strategist of Louis Hilton Law, Calyssa discreetly counsels cultural institutions, brands, public figures, and legacy-driven leaders navigating the nexus of legal complexity, public visibility and long-term positioning. She also curates @LouisHiltonStories, a platform for storytelling, cultural memory, and strategic legacy-building.

If your work touches law, legacy or culture and you need strategic, discreet, high-impact counsel, she welcomes opportunities to collaborate.