“To have our legal worries taken off of our plates allows us to spend our time protecting the innocence of children”
Brent King
Chelsea King's Father
Chelsea Inspires Positive Change
At California's Poway High School, senior Chelsea King loved competing on the cross-country team, playing French horn, and mentoring other students — all while earning straight A's and working for causes like environmental sustainability. When Chelsea went for a run in broad daylight in 2010 and didn't return, San Diego rallied to find her. Five days later her remains were discovered in a shallow grave. Chelsea had been raped and strangled by a known sexual predator who had served time for molesting a 13-year-old girl. After DNA evidence tied him to Chelsea's murder, he also confessed to the rape and murder of 14-year-old Amber Dubois, who'd been missing since 2009.
Following Chelsea's death, her parents, Brent and Kelly King, established a nonprofit charitable foundation in her name and helped pass a California law that increases penalties, parole provisions, and oversight for violent sexual predators convicted of attacking children. Since the passage of that legislation, Chelsea's Law, the Kings have pushed for similar legal reforms across the nation.
Chelsea's Light Foundation empowers individuals to help safeguard children, sponsors youth programs, and provides scholarships to high-school seniors who share Chelsea's commitment to positive change. Funds for these initiatives are generated through community activities such as Finish Chelsea's Run, an annual San Diego 5K run/walk that the Kings hope to take nationwide.
Attorney Andrew Skale started working with Chelsea's Light shortly after its founding. Soon he joined the board, and Mintz Levin attorneys began providing pro bono services. "We are incredibly honored to work with an organization that is so focused on saving kids' lives," Andrew says.
"They just get it," Brent says of the legal team, "and working with attorneys who understand our needs gives us peace of mind."
The firm's commitment to Chelsea's Light extends across our offices and up to New York–based Managing Member Bob Bodian, who participated in Finish Chelsea's Run in 2015. Legal Specialist Jacobo Dib registered the foundation's trademarks, and Andrew has handled agreements with sponsors. The attorneys also registered a right of publicity to protect Chelsea's name. In addition, they helped compile a report that confirms that Chelsea's Law is protecting children from convicted offenders, and worked to complete an analysis of sex offender laws across the nation.
In 2014, attorney Katy Ward helped draft new conflict-of-interest and whistleblower policies and updated the organization's document-retention policy and other guidelines. Mintz Levin also helped with a documentary created by Chelsea's brother, Tyler King. Chelsea's Light: A Brother's Journey tells Chelsea's story from Tyler's perspective while raising awareness about sexual violence against children and looking at how the criminal justice system often fails to protect them. Attorney Anthony Hubbard reviewed everything from the film's participant release forms to contracts with its distributor and its Emmy Award–winning director and producer, Bruce Caulk.
The Kings are moved by the dedication and results that Chelsea has inspired. "Once engagement occurs, change can happen," Brent says.