Jon Kelley is a litigation partner and trial lawyer in the Dallas office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, focusing on commercial, mass tort, and products liability litigation. Jon has experience in all aspects of trial strategy and major case litigation, including experience guiding clients through MDLs, mass actions, class actions, and other complex litigation. Jon has served as trial counsel in a number of high profile cases, including most recently for Allergan in connection with nationwide opioid litigation and Juul Labs in litigation involving products liability and marketing claims. Jon also has experience litigating First Amendment cases, and recently second-chaired a trial victory in a First Amendment commercial speech case before the Chief Judge of the District Court for the District of Colorado. Prior to joining Kirkland, Jon represented a diverse group of clients including Microsoft, Major League Baseball, Pfizer, JPMorgan, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., the National Football League in its NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation, the Blackstone Group, and other Fortune 500 companies.

Jon has published articles on trial preparation and strategy for Bloomberg Law and Law360 , and has also led efforts to partner with AbbVie in organizing and hosting trial academies at HBCU law schools, beginning with an inaugural trial academy in January of 2023. Jon also serves as a pro bono coordinator for Kirkland’s Dallas office.

Jon earned his law degree from Duke University School of Law. After graduating summa cum laude with his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University, Jon received a Fulbright Grant from the U.S. Department of State and spent a year living in South Korea. Jon has traveled extensively, and, among other international work, has served as a visiting professor at a university in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Publications

Author, " Virtual Courts Are Not Going Away ," Bloomberg Law , October 2022

Co-Author, " How to Win Over Bench Trial Judges Post-COVID ," Law36 0, August 2022

Co-Author with George Hicks, “ Removal and Remand: Simple Yet Complex ,” The Advocate: State Bar Litigation Section Report, Vol. 97 No. 29 , Winter 2021

Co-Author, "2014 SEC Actions brought Against Hedge Funds, Private Funds, and Fund Investment Advisers," Practicing Law Institute, Fall 2014

Author, "Gideon’s Bullhorn: Sounding a Louder, Clearer Call for a Civil Right to Counsel," 4 Sanford J. Pub. Pol’y 87, May 2013

Seminars

"Equal Justice Under Law? Broken Promises and Relevant Responses to the Inefficacy of Appointed Counsel," Lecture at Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, April 25, 2013

"The Ins and Outs of Responding to a Congressional Subpoena," Presentation to the Higginbotham Inn, April 18, 2018

Barrister, Higginbotham Inn of Court, 2020–2023

Associate Member, Higginbotham Inn of Court, 2017–2018

Member, Dallas Bar Association

Member, Texas Bar Association

Member, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers