Robert W. Kelley

rwk@kulaw.com 888-522-6601

Robert W. Kelley has been recognized by Lawyers USA as one of the Top Ten Lawyers in the United States. In 2009 he obtained the 7th largest jury verdict in the entire country as reported by the National Law Journal.

It was also the largest product liability award in the United States that year.

When the New York Times editorial board opined on the trial it praised the therapeutic effect of the jury’s verdict and wrote:

“There should be more lawsuits against this industry, seeking not only monetary damages but also changes in how the industry markets its products.”

A decade earlier, Mr. Kelley was the focus of national attention as a result of the verdict he obtained after a six-month jury trial against General Motors. That trial, which received media coverage around the world, became the subject of a segment on CBS 60 Minutes, and exposed a massive corporate cover-up involving long-hidden GM documents concerning a “value analysis” performed by company engineers as to whether it would be worth spending $2.20 per vehicle on fuel tank shields in order to prevent people from burning alive in GM vehicle fires.

The trial resulted in the largest personal injury/wrongful death judgment ever paid by the automaker, and is also the subject of a book about corporate misconduct and the trial.

“Trial by jury – the best of all safeguards for the person and property of every individual.” -Thomas Jefferson (1823)

Over the course of his career, Mr. Kelley has been selected and continuously included in the publications Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers and South Florida’s Best Lawyers. He has been repeatedly selected as a finalist by the editors of the South Florida Daily Business Review as one of the Most Effective Lawyers in South Florida. He has tried more than 100 jury trials, and has won over 25 multimillion dollar jury verdicts in a wide variety of cases involving automobile, trucking and boating accidents, medical malpractice, construction site accidents, defective products, and brain and spinal cord injuries.

Mr. Kelley has been a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar for more than twenty years. He is a frequent lecturer on trial practice in Florida and across the country and he has taught as an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern Law Center. He is AV rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory – its highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards. He is the editor of the Florida Jury Selection Blog which has over 1,000 lawyers, judges and law professors across the country as subscribers. He has published articles in the Florida Bar Journal, the Journal of the Florida Justice Association, the Nova Law Review, and the International Information Bulletin on Variable Stars.

Mr. Kelley is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Nova Southeastern Law Center, where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Nova Law Review. He is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals of the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the State Bar of Florida.

In addition to his exceptional legal career, Mr. Kelley is an active participant or significant contributor to a number of charitable organizations, both local and national. Mr. Kelley and his firm have been Justice Circle Sponsors for Legal Aid and FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD. Mr. Kelley serves on the Board of the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale which provides housing for the elderly and low-income families, and he has served on the boards of United Way and the Broward County YMCA. He was the founding donor of the Kelley Boathouse at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, and is a significant contributor to the Dolphin Research Center and The Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys.

Mr. Kelley is a licensed United States Coast Guard Captain. He worked his way through law school on commercial fishing boats. He is a PADI certified Rescue Diver and DiveMaster. In 2011 he founded The Dive Bar, an Underwater Bar Association, consisting of SCUBA certified lawyers and others who are dedicated to preserving the coral reefs and marine environment of the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. He is married, and he and his wife have six children.

Mr. Kelley and his law firm engage in a wide variety of activities dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives. But the thing he values most highly is the opportunity to represent those seeking justice.

Education:

• J.D, Cum Laude, Nova University
  • Served as Editor-in-Chief of the Nova Law Review and as an Editor of the law school newspaper
• B.S., Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University

Areas of Practice:

• Catastrophic Injury
• Defective Products
• Medical Malpractice
• Automobile Accidents
• Consumer Fraud
• Business Litigation
• Wrongful Death

Bar Admissions:

• Florida
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit

Awards and Honors:

• Martindale Hubbell – AV Rating
• Florida Super Lawyer – Top 5% of Attorneys in Florida

Published Works:

• “Hearsay Today-Gone Tomorrow – The changing Florida Evidence Code,”Florida Bar Journal.
• “Trial of A Treasure Hunter,” Nova Law Journal

Professional Associations and Leadership Activities

• Member – American Association for Justice
• Member – Broward County Bar Association
• Member & Former President – Broward County Trial Lawyers Association
• Member & Former Board Member - Florida Justice Association
• Member – The Florida Bar
• Licensed Captain – United States Coast Guard
• Former Member, Code & Rules of Evidence Committee, Florida Bar

Community Associations and Leadership Activities:

• Former Board of Directors – Broward County United Way
• Former Board of Directors – Broward County YMCA