Conor M. Kelly

With a father who is also a personal injury attorney, Kelly was exposed to this area of law early on. Still, he found his own way to the practice, starting in college when he spent a summer working at a personal injury law firm in New York.

“I really enjoyed it from the beginning. The opportunity to help folks who oftentimes have nowhere else to turn,” Kelly said. “To help them fight against large corporations or big entities is something that’s always spoken to me.”

The last case he tried before the pandemic was a wrongful death case involving a fire in a San Francisco studio apartment. Belo v. Bally Hallinan CGC-16-552777 (S.F. Super. Ct, filed June 28, 2016). The fire resulted in the death of a 55-year-old woman who was an admitted hoarder. The defense denied that the fire started from the negligent installation of an electrical outlet, and argued that the woman’s hoarding contributed to her death by allowing the fire to spread quickly and prevent her escape. The defense’s final pretrial offer was $150,000.

“It was certainly important to demonstrate the technical aspects about the case, but also to draw it back to what made common sense — what was more likely than not to have happened based on the physical evidence, and helping the jury understand the facts and what conclusions can we draw from them,” Kelly said. “We were able to prove that it was an electrical fire in nature, that it had been started as a result of a defective electric outlet in the apartment building, and ultimately we got a verdict that was 20 times what the final offer had been before the trial started.”

The jury rendered a $3 million verdict, finding no fault by the decedent.

Another recent victory was a $5.5 million jury verdict for a family harmed in a multivehicle collision involving a SuperShuttle van. Kim v. Zarour, et al. CIV527935 (San Mateo Super. Ct, filed April 10, 2014). Kelly also obtained a confidential, seven-figure settlement for a passenger in a car who sustained brain damage in a collision with a tractor-trailer carrying 6,500 gallons of bulk wine. Meistrell, Gerard m vs. Scan-Vino, LLC et al. M130121 (Monterey Super. Ct., filed Nov. 20, 2014).

Kelly, who said he enjoys staying in contact with clients after a case has concluded, finds the work extremely rewarding.

“I’m given the opportunity to change individuals’ lives. That’s a big weight to carry, and can be very stressful, but I take it very seriously,” he said.

— Jennifer Chung Klam