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 last 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 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. Mike is currently one of the most active faculty member coaches for Trial School.Org, an online, national, free trial skills training group that teaches courtroom techniques, as well as new and innovative skills trial lawyers need to succeed and win on behalf of their client. 

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger