Title: Partner
Firm: Kutak Rock
Age: 37
At an early stage of her legal career, Monika Calamita is already an instrumental part of Kutak Rock’s national charter school practice.
“Her ability to grasp concepts and gain the trust of clients and other members of the deal team allowed her to lead deals and create solutions to problems,” Dane Fernandes, chair of Kutak Rock’s public finance department in Scottsdale, Arizona, said in his nominating statement.
Based in the Scottsdale office, Monika concentrates her practice on charter school transactions, where she has experience as bond counsel, issuer’s counsel, bank counsel and underwriter’s counsel in numerous states.
“What I like about the charter school world, and because I live in Arizona where they are prevalent, I can literally drive down the street and say, ‘I helped build that,’” she said.
Since being selected as a partner in January 2020, Monika has taken on a greater role in the public finance department and the Scottsdale office as a whole, Fernandes said, sitting on numerous committees including those that address the strategic direction of the department and office.
She’s also involved with nonprofits, serving on the board of The Pearce Family Foundation.
Growing up in Arizona, she had early exposure to the legal profession.
“My mom owns her own court reporting firm,” she said. “I grew up around depositions and courts.”
Monika received her undergraduate and law degrees from Arizona State University. She’s married and raising a preschooler.
“She is part of the new breed of public finance attorney that our industry desperately needs, and I expect her to continue to make her mark over the remainder of her career,” Fernandes said.
