Kelly A. Woodruff is a member of the firm's Business Litigation, Bankruptcy & Creditors Rights and White Collar Crime practice groups. Ms. Woodruff has extensive experience in both trial and appellate work and represents clients in both state and federal court. Her practice emphasizes complex commercial disputes involving allegations of corporate wrongdoing, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, director and officer liability, professional negligence and breach of contract.

Ms. Woodruff recently obtained a jury verdict on behalf of a client alleging insurance broker malpractice. She subsequently settled the appeal for nearly twice the amount of the judgment. Other recent notable client successes include settling a case on behalf of a client who asserted sizeable claims of fraudulent conveyance and misappropriation of trade secrets when he attempted to foreclose on a promissory note and discovered the debtor had transferred the corporation's key assets to a third-party. Ms. Woodruff also successfully defended an Italian company in a three-party construction dispute involving claims of breach of contract and fraud. The case was arbitrated at the ICC Court of Arbitration in Paris.

In bankruptcy matters, Ms. Woodruff routinely represents corporate and individual creditors in Chapter 11 reorganization cases, defendants in voidable transfer actions, and parties in complex adversary proceedings. She recently obtained outright dismissals of two separate adversary proceedings alleging clients received fraudulent transfers from insolvent debtors, and has successfully settled numerous preference actions. Ms. Woodruff also represents individual officers and directors in litigation alleging claims of bankruptcy fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and misrepresentation, and also assists clients to collect obligations from financially troubled customers and vendors.

On the appellate front, Ms. Woodruff has successfully handled numerous appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and California Court of Appeal, including an insurance coverage case, a bankruptcy adversary proceeding appeal and two death penalty habeas corpus cases. She was a member of the Farella team that obtained a reversal of the death sentence of San Quentin inmate David Ghent, Jr., on grounds that his constitutional rights had been violated. Ms. Woodruff also handles prisoner civil rights appeals on a pro bono basis, and she has successfully obtained reversals of summary judgment against her clients in two reported opinions, Bruce v. Ylst, 351 F.3d 1283, 1289 (9th Cir. 2003), and Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006).

Ms. Woodruff is committed to giving back to her community, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Equal Rights Advocates.