Mr. Kelly is the 2014 recipient of the California American Board of Trial Advocates ( CAL-ABOTA ) Trial Lawyer of the year award. He is in his 4th decade of representing those injured by the wrongdoing of others. His March 2013 $8,341,000 verdict in the first DePuy ASR /Johnson and Johnson metal-on-metal defective hip trial helped produce a $2.75 billion dollar national settlement of these claims. His August, 2012, $8,350,000 verdict on behalf of a construction-site worker who lost an arm in a fall, further demonstrated the breadth of his practice and his stellar results. A member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Mr. Kelly has been annually selected by SuperLawyers Magazine as one of the Top Ten lawyers in Northern California. His practice includes personal injury cases arising from defective medical devices, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, medical negligence, product liability, government liability and mass tort claims. He represents clients both in and out of California.
In 2013 and 2014 he was honored with an Award of Merit by the Consumer Attorneys of California for his work on behalf of medical negligence victims. In 2011 he was honored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy with the prestigious Robert Oliphant Award, recognizing his pro bono contributions to advocacy teaching. In 2010 he was voted the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association’s "Trial Lawyer of the Year.".
At various times he has held or shared the record for the highest verdict amount in particular case types in various California counties. His $23,200,000 jury verdict in a medical negligence case in Minnesota in 2010 ranks among the nation's largest verdicts ever for obstetrical injury. He has been listed as among the "Best Lawyers" in America for 18 consecutive years. He holds an "AV" rating (highest rating) from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been favorably profiled in numerous legal periodicals. During his career he has been involved in more than 175 cases where his client recovered $1,000,000 or more by way of trial, arbitration, mediation or settlement.
He has been recognized by his peers by election to the most selective and prestigious legal honorary societies including the Inner Circle of Advocates, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers (for whom he served as President in 2012-2013), the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and The Summit Council. He has served on the National Board of ABOTA, the governing board of NITA, the Foundation of ABOTA, and the governing boards of numerous charities.
His commitment to continuing legal education and pro-bono work has been widely recognized. During his career he has served as an invited speaker at more than 200 continuing education seminars for attorneys across the country (and outside the United States) on subjects ranging from civil trial practice to cross-examination, evidence, opening statement and final argument.
He has taught litigation advocacy courses in England, Ireland, Scotland, Eastern Europe and Asia. He served for ten years as the director of teacher training programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. He lectures regularly for the American Association for Justice ( AAJ ) , the California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), The Rutter Group, CAOC, ABOTA and SFTLA.
Mr. Kelly graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary's College of California in 1973. He obtained his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1976. He was an Assistant Professor of Law at Hastings from 1981 - 2001. Since 1978 his work has been exclusively in the area of complex plaintiff's personal injury and death claims.
