MIKE KELLY
For more than four decades , Mike Kelly has protected consumers from corporate greed , medical mistakes , dangerous household products and unsafe medical devices .
During the Civil Rights Movement , Mr . Kelly says that he drew inspiration from Robert F . Kennedy . “ Bobby Kennedy was a lightning rod for social change and civil rights ,” Kelly says . “ He was charismatic with boundless energy . He made the practice of law look like a profession where you could make a difference .”
Kelly landed his first job with the San Francisco firm Sutton , Needham & Hull . The founders created a practice that helped personal injury and criminal defense clients . “ To my disappointment , there weren ’ t enough civil litigation cases to keep me busy , but I had plenty of work on the criminal defense side .
Kelly started off by handling misdemeanor trials and juvenile cases , then he made the jump to Walkup , Downing & Sterns , a prestigious plaintiff ’ s firm that now has Kelly ’ s name on the door .
One of Kelly ’ s most significant victories involved a $ 23 million verdict in a small town in Minnesota on behalf of another infant in a birth injury case . Another career highlight involved a product liability case against bicycle equipment maker Bell Helmets , at a time when no other lawyer had successfully won a verdict against Bell for its defective bicycle helmets . Kelly and Walkup partner Richard Schoenberger tried the case in Santa Clara County Superior Court and secured a $ 17 million jury verdict .
Those verdicts enabled Kelly to earn a reputation as one of the nation ’ s leading personal injury and wrongful death lawyers . His awards include “ Trial Lawyer of the Year ” by eight chapters of Cal-ABOTA and induction into the Inner Circle of Advocates , a group limited to the top 100 plaintiff attorneys in the country . Just this year , he was inducted into Lawdragon ’ s 2021 Hall of Fame . The Northern California Super Lawyers publication named Kelly a “ Top Ten ” honoree and in 2020 and 2021 and he also received recognition as the No . 1 “ Vote Getter ” in Northern California .
After 45 years , Kelly has no intention of slowing down . He splits his time between teaching trial advocacy and trial practice with an active caseload . He is currently focused on developing an online national , free trial school to teach courtroom techniques and approaches new lawyers can take from case to case .
26 x The Trial Lawyer