About Us
We're Not Your Traditional Law Firm
Build your business. Leave a legacy.
Many entrepreneurs leave their corporate jobs to start businesses, but end up creating another form of employment for themselves. They trade hours for dollars, and when they stop working, revenue stops.
There’s an important distinction between owning a business and being self-employed. We help our clients build true businesses that can operate and generate revenue independently of the owner’s daily involvement.
At Locked & Lawyered®, we believe that entrepreneurship is the fastest path to wealth for those who weren’t born into it. But true wealth isn’t built solely on the hustle of the founder. It’s built on intellectual property that can be scaled, protected, and leveraged.
Meet Nakia Gray, Esq., Founder
Nakia Gray, Esq. is an Intellectual Property Attorney, Strategic Business Advisor, and Creator of the Million Dollar IP™ Framework. A proven system that helps six-figure entrepreneurs scale to seven figures and beyond by building businesses around their intellectual property
With over a decade of experience in business law, branding strategy, and legacy planning, Nakia has helped thousands of entrepreneurs package their expertise into scalable signature frameworks and offers, protect their intellectual property through trademarks, copyrights, and strategic contracts, and build businesses that generate revenue without requiring the founder to deliver every service.
She earned a BS in Marketing from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a JD from Howard University School of Law, and an MA in Strategic Communication from American University. She’s licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, serving entrepreneurs nationwide.
Nakia started her legal career as a litigator, but quickly realized that traditional law firm models didn’t serve entrepreneurs the way they needed to be served. In 2014, she founded Locked & Lawyered® and began disrupting the legal industry by creating accessible, high-value digital products and educational programs that allowed entrepreneurs to protect their businesses without the traditional six-figure legal bills.
Since then, she’s built multiple six and seven-figure revenue streams from her own intellectual property, and now teaches others to do the same.
Nakia doesn’t just practice law. She builds businesses. She understands what it takes to scale because she’s done it herself. She knows what it feels like to hit a revenue ceiling. She knows the decision to hire your first team member. She knows what it’s like to package expertise into offers that sell without you being on every sales call.
That’s why her clients don’t just get legal advice. They get strategic business counsel from someone who’s been where they are and scaled beyond it.
Nakia is based in the Washington, D.C. area and is a proud wife, mother, new empty nester, and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
From Litigator to Legal Disruptor
Nakia started her legal career as a litigator, but quickly realized that traditional law firm models didn’t serve entrepreneurs the way they needed to be served.
After working in traditional firms for nearly a decade, she found herself being overlooked and underpaid relative to her white male counterparts. The 80-hour work weeks and emotionally fraught cases were beginning to wear on her.
She knew she could build something better. Something that served entrepreneurs who were building businesses and needed more than just legal paperwork. They needed strategic guidance on how to build businesses that could actually create wealth.
In 2014, she founded Locked & Lawyered® and began disrupting the legal industry. Instead of the traditional hourly billing model, she created accessible, high-value digital products and educational programs. She built a firm that serves entrepreneurs the way they actually need to be served.
Since then, she’s helped thousands of entrepreneurs legally protect their brands and build the strategic foundation needed to scale. And she’s built a firm and a life that she loves.
What Makes Locked & Lawyered Different
We Practice What
We Preach
We've built our own seven-figure business on IP. We don't just
teach it. We live it.
Strategic, Not Transactional
Legal protection without business strategy leaves money on the
table. We provide both.
Authority Over Likability
We emphasize certainty over traditional "know, like, trust" approaches. Your clients don't need to like you. They need to know with certainty that you understand them.
What We Believe
At Locked & Lawyered®, we stand for more than just legal protection. We believe in building businesses rooted in values that matter.
Entrepreneurship is the path to wealth. If you weren’t born into wealth, entrepreneurship is your fastest and most powerful way to build it.
Your IP is your most valuable asset. Scalable businesses are built on intellectual property. Protect it, leverage it, monetize it.
Freedom, protection, and legacy matter. We help entrepreneurs build businesses that give them freedom, protect what they’ve built, and create generational wealth.
Innovation drives growth. We don’t follow outdated models. We innovate, disrupt, and create better ways to serve our clients.
Everything is figure-out-able. Challenges are opportunities. There’s always a solution, and we’re committed to finding it.
Ready to Work Together?
Build your business. Leave a legacy.
For legal insights, business strategy, and a look behind the scenes at Locked & Lawyered, follow us on Instagram.
Mission &Purpose
Providing the tools and the confidence to thrive
Our Mission
To give business owners from marginalized communities the tools and confidence they need to create the sustainable businesses of their dreams.
Our Vision
Creating a world where businesses run by people from marginalized communities not only survive but thrive.
Our Purpose
Helping digital entrepreneurs from marginalized communities monetize their intellectual property to build generational wealth.
Get to know
my story
For legal advice, business strategy, and a glimpse behind the scenes of Locked & Lawyered, follow us on Instagram.