Michael A. Kelly

MICHAEL A. KELLY (download vcard)

Voted in December 2009 by the readers of San Francisco's Recorder legal newspaper as the "Best Personal Injury Attorney" in San Francisco, and featured on the cover of the 2009 Northern California Super Lawyers magazine, Michael A. Kelly's $23,200,000 jury verdict in a 2010 medical negligence case ranks among the nation's largest verdicts ever.

He has tried cases throughout California and the nation, and has been involved in more than 150 cases where his client(s) recovered $1,000,000 or more by way of trial, arbitration, mediation or settlement. He is a three-time "Trial Lawyer of the Year" nominee of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. In 2010 he was selected for the 16th consecutive year as one of the Best Lawyers in America. His record breaking jury verdicts include the largest medical malpractice verdict in Sonoma County history in 2007; in 2006 he obtained the largest jury verdict for medical negligence in the history of El Dorado County; a San Francisco Superior Court jury verdict which was, at the time, the largest ever reported for the wrongful death of a non-dependent adult child.

His commitment to the judicial system, pro-bono work and the rights of the under represented have been acknowledged by multiple Bar organizations. In 2010 he made his second visit to Osaka, Japan to assist in the training of Japanese attorneys involved in Japan's new Saiban-in jury trial system. In 2008 he was honored by Sonoma County Legal Aid society for his commitment to the poor, and in 2007 the Bar Association of San Francisco presented him with a citation acknowledging his commitment to training lawyers for children. For 2010 he serves as President of the San Francisco chapter of ABOTA. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society of Barristers. He serves on the National Board of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a summa cum laude graduate of St. Mary's College of California and obtained his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1976. For the last 35 years he has specialized in the resolution of complex plaintiff's personal injury claims, including claims for wrongful death, and those arising from product liability, government negligence, obstetrical mismanagement, drug and device failure, vehicle defects and vehicle collisions.

At the appointment of the California Judicial Council he serves as a member of the task force empanelled to rewrite California's civil jury instructions in plain English.

Mr. Kelly has successfully litigated matters in Oregon, Hawaii, Colorado, Alaska, Minnesota, New Mexico and the Territory of Guam. He has obtained 8-figure jury verdicts and settlements in product liability, wrongful death, obstetrical injury, medical negligence and vehicle collision cases. He holds an "AV" rating (highest rating) from Martindale-Hubbell and has been favorably profiled in numerous legal periodicals. He is heavily involved in continuing legal education and teaches for NITA, the California Continuing Education of the Bar, ABOTA , CAOC, SFTLA and The Rutter Group. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and serves as Program Director of that organization's San Francisco, New York and Colorado Teacher Training Programs.