L. Todd Kelly

A Bit About Todd
Todd Kelly is, first, and foremost, a child of God. He is a devoted husband to his wife (and law partner), Robbye, and father of four amazing children, Joshua, Meghan, Matthew, and Selby. He cooks one large batch of crawfish per year and has become adept at smoking a brisket. Because he has tried to do life without Him, Todd will testify that he is an utter failure without his savior, Jesus, and that the rest of the narrative below is possible only by His unending grace… read more about that miracle in Todd’s recent autobiographical book Worth Dying For.
Experience On Your Side
Professionally, Todd is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Todd is licensed in Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado and Pennsylvania. He grew up in Arlington, Texas, and received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas in 1987, while attending on an ROTC Scholarship. He earned his juris doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law in 1995 as a member of the Woolsack Honor Society, while serving as a U.S. Marine, where he returned to practice as a criminal defense attorney in the judge advocate’s corps.
Todd left the Marine Corps to enter private practice in 1998, after attaining the rank of Major. He represented asbestos exposure victims and other seriously injured people in Virginia and Pennsylvania before returning to represent victims of birth injury and nursing home abuse in his native Texas in 2002.
In 2006, Todd opened his own law firm in Houston, Texas, where he gained recognition for his representation of sexual assault victims by overseas military contractors.
Background
Todd has been featured on 20/20, The Rachel Maddow Show, and has been interviewed on legal topics by numerous national and local news programs, including CBS’ Insider Edition. In 2009, Todd appeared in front of committees of the United States Congress speaking on the Fairness in Arbitration Act, in an effort to eliminate mandatory, binding, pre-dispute arbitration provisions that are found in consumer products and other contracts. Todd was consulted by Senator Al Franken, who sponsored an amendment to the Senate Appropriations bill during that year which led to the abolition of forced arbitration for victims of sexual assault by most military contractors.
In 2013, Todd was inducted into the Texas Lawyer Hall of Fame following a $16,900,000 verdict on behalf of a mentally handicapped woman who was raped by a caregiver at her daycare facility.
Todd has received his 10-year Super Lawyer award as a Texas Super Lawyer, having been named by that publication in 2011, 2012 and every year since 2014.
Protector Of The Constitution
Todd has dedicated his life to making America safer. He began that service as a Marine Corps combat engineer officer. He now continues that work by protecting those truly injured people who will never get the justice that our system promises to them without holding greedy, powerful corporate entities responsible for the damage they cause. As a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Texas Trial Lawyers’ Association, and as a past president of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers’ Association, he remains a staunch defender of our right to trial by a jury of our peers in all cases with a value exceeding $20.00, as guaranteed by the 7th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Todd urges that if we fail to protect the 7th Amendment to the United States Constitution, we will eventually lose the rights guaranteed by all of the Amendments because it is this right to hold the powerful accountable, protected by the 7th Amendment, that protects the individual freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution.
Education
2022 | Celebration Leadership Institute Celebration Church, Georgetown, Texas Diploma awarded – 2022 |
2009 | Trial Lawyers College Student Graduate – July 2009 Faculty Instructor since May 2022 |
1995 | The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University Juris Doctorate – June 1995 Honors: Woolsack Honor Society |
1987 | The University of Texas at Austin B.A. – May 1987 Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society |
Licenses and Specialties
Licenses Held | Texas: 2002 Virginia: 1995 Oklahoma: 2010 New Mexico: 2020 Colorado: 2021 Pennsylvania (Inactive, in Good Standing) United States Supreme Court: 2001 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: 2008 Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces: 1995 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia: 1998 United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas: 2007 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas: 2007 United States District Court for the Western District of Texas: 2015 United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas: 2019 |
Specialties | Board Certifications | Trial Lawyers College Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, December 2015 |
Faculty Appointments | Faculty Instructor, The Trial Lawyers College |
Board Membership | Board Member, Texas Trial Lawyers Association Board Member, Reset Mentoring Founding Member, Amour Center and Safe House Former Chairman of the Advisory Board: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Central Texas |
Honors and Awards
Honors | Awards | Scott Osman Trial Lawyer of the Year – Capital Area Trial Lawyers, 2024 Rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell Texas Super Lawyer, A Thomson Reuters Business, 2011-2012, 2014-2024 Top Lawyers: #1 Verdict in a Waco, Texas Personal Injury Case, 2024 Top Lawyers: #1 Settlement in a Sexual Assault Case, 2023 Austin’s Top Attorneys (Personal Injury), 2019 – 2024 Three Separate Cases included in the Top 10 Verdicts in Texas: 2022 Top 10 Verdicts in Texas: 2020 Top 50 Personal Injury US Verdicts 2020 Top 100 US Verdicts 2020 Verdict Search’s “Top Texas Verdicts” by Texas Lawyer in 2011, and twice in 2018 H Texas Magazine’s “Houston’s Top Lawyers,” in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2012 Top 100 US Verdicts Voted The Global Directory of Who’s Who Top Lawyer of 2015 Texas Lawyer Hall of Fame: 2013 Inductee AVVO Rating of “10 – Superb” |
Memberships and Recognitions
Classes | Seminars | Fairness in Arbitration Act, Press Conference with Congressional Leaders: 2009 Fairness in Arbitration – Lecture, University of Delaware: 2009 Fairness in Arbitration – Lecture, University of Texas Law School: 2010 Intangible Damages – Lecture, Permian Basin Trial Lawyers Association: 2015 Intangible Damages – Lecture, Bryan/College Station Trial Lawyers Association: 2016 Proving Causation with Pre-Existing Injuries – Lecture, TTLA Car Wrecks Seminar: 2017 Trial Advocacy College of Texas (TACT) Faculty, Austin, Texas: 2018 Civil Justice for Victims of Crime in Texas – Panel Discussion, NCVBA: 2019 TLC Regional Seminar, F-Warrior Ambassador: 2019 Trying a Case Without Medical Bills – Lecture, CATLA CLE: 2019 Trying a Case Without Medical Bills – Lecture, TTLA Midyear: 2019 Open Wide: Opening Statements to Prepare a Jury to Think Big, TTLA Midyear: 2020 Trying a Case Without Medical Bills after SB-207 – Lecture, CATLA CLE: 2021 Trial Advocacy College of Texas (TACT) Faculty, Irving, Texas: 2021 TTLA Advanced Tactics & Strategy (Trying Cases without Medical Bills): 2021 South Plains Trial Lawyers’ Assoc. (Trying Cases without Medical Bills): 2021 Permian Basin Trial Lawyers’ Assoc. (Trying Cases without Medical Bills): 2021 Tarrant County Trial Lawyers’ Assoc. (Trying Cases without Medical Bills): 2021 Texas Trial Lawyers Association Destination CLE on Actual Damages: 2022 Texas Bar Association CLE panelist on Trucking Tips and Tricks: 2022 CATLA: Worth Dying For: 7 Ways That Being a Trial Lawyer Can Kill You: 2023 Texas Young Lawyers Association: Panel Presentation on Mental Health: 2023 Permian Basin Trial Lawyers’ Assoc. (7 Ways Being a Trial Lawyer can Kill You): 2023 Travis County Volunteer Legal Services CLE: Trial Thoughts: 2023 Trial Lawyers’ College, Faculty Instructor: 2023 Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Association, Faculty Instructor: 2023 Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association: Worth Dying For – The Power Within: 2023 |
Professional Associations and Memberships | Texas Super Lawyers: 2011-2012; 2014-2024 Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum, Life Member Multi-Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum, Life Member State Bar of Texas, Member National Trial Lawyers (Top 100 Trial Lawyers), 2012-2022 National Association of Distinguished Counsel (Top 1% of Attorneys Nationwide) The National Crime Victim’s Bar Association, Member Texas Trial Lawyers Association, VP of Political Affairs: 2019-2020; PAC, Chair: 2020-2022 Capital Area Trial Lawyers’ Association, Past President: 2020-2021 Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, Advocate Member: 2021 – present The American Board of Trial Advocates: 2016 – present The Robert W. Calvert American Inn of Court: 2020 – 2023 The “F-Warriors,” Past Region 4 Representative, 2013-2020 American Association of Justice, Member Reset Mentoring, Board Member and Former Teen Mentor |
Past Employment Positions | Muery, Farrell & Kelly, Senior Partner, Trial Lawyer: 2023-2024 The Carlson Law Firm, Partner, Trial Lawyer: 2021-2023 The Kelly Law Firm, Owner, Trial Lawyer: 2006-2012, 2014 – present Lone Star Karate & Self-Defense, Owner, Sensei: 2006-2012 Haskins, Gregan & Kelly, Partner, Trial Lawyer: 2002-2006 Cohen & Feeley, Associate, Trial Lawyer: 2001-2002 Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein, Associate, Trial Lawyer: 1998 – 2001 United States Marine Corps, Major, Judge Advocate: 1987-1998 |