Law Firm Overview

John P. Kelly is Managing Partner of The Kelly Law Firm. He is a graduate (magna cum laude) of The College of the Holy Cross and Vanderbilt Law School, where he was a member of The Vanderbilt Law Review. He is a Florida board-certified trial lawyer and business litigation specialist and has been certified as a trial lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Kelly has tried over 120 jury trials in federal and state court throughout the United States. Mr. Kelly formerly was an equity partner with the law firms of Fleming, O’Bryan & Fleming, Gunster, Yoakley, Valdes-Fauli & Stewart, and Lorussso Loud & Kelly LLP for over 25 years.

Mr. Kelly's practice focuses on sophisticated complex business litigation and related business counseling.

Mr. Kelly’s specialty as a trial lawyer and business litigator encompasses a diverse field of law, including intellectual property, antitrust, employment law, corporate and securities law, ERISA, personal injury and wrongful death, products liability, insurance coverage, and probate law. He has obtained significant verdicts and settlements as a trial lawyer, including a $13 million settlement for adopted descendants of a trust creator and a $2.6 million jury verdict in a corporate “squeeze-out” case.

Mr. Kelly has represented both individuals and major Fortune 500 companies in litigation both in Florida and throughout the United States. He regularly appears in all Florida state courts and in federal courts in Florida and other states. He is a member of the arbitration panel of the American Arbitration Association. While primarily engaged in a jury trial practice, Mr. Kelly has appeared in hundreds of mediations, arbitrations, and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) matters. He also has argued over thirty appeals at all appellate levels and is admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Kelly is listed in Who’s Who In America and Who's Who In The World ; he is active in many community activities. He has been a featured speaker at numerous seminars on business litigation law and trial practice throughout Florida, and also has participated as a speaker at an international conference on employment law in Kitzbuhel, Austria. He has published numerous articles on business litigation law and trial practice, including the section on corporate litigation in the Florida CLE Manual, “Business Litigation In Florida.” Mr. Kelly has extensive expertise in the use of high technology in the presentation of evidence in the courtroom.

Areas of Practice

• Business Counseling
• Complex Business Litigation
• Litigation & Appeals

Honors and Awards

• Who's Who In America
• Who's Who In The World

Published Works

• "Business Litigation In Florida", Florida CLE Manual

Classes and Seminars

• Featured Speaker, Business Litigation Law and Trial Practice
• Speaker, Employment Law, International Conference, Kitzbuhel, Austria

West Practice Categories

Business & Commercial Law, Litigation & Appeals, Complex Litigation