Biography
Kelly is a member of the Insurance Solutions Practice Group where she creates value for clients in the areas of specialized insurance programs, loss portfolio transfers, private equity group structures, reinsurance, regulatory issues, and transactional aspects of insurance and private equity risk-transfer transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, run off portfolio and corporate liability transfers.
Kelly is responsible for all aspects of due diligence of insurance programs, corporate liabilities, insurance assets, reserving, including identification of risk and opportunities for improving profitability in all aspects of insurance and private liability programs. She assesses overall exposure, insurance and reinsurance assets, reserving, litigation management and portfolio strategy to identify factors impacting risk for deterioration and opportunity for value creation in indemnity and expense payments. She is engaged by clients to assist during the negotiation process, including liaising with other parties and their brokers to identify and resolve impediments to closing. Kelly assists with negotiation and drafting of transfers agreements and supporting documents. Kelly advises clients regarding management of legacy portfolios, run-off programs and large-scale settlement projects. She provides clients with cost-effective litigation management strategies for large books of business by expanding on the traditional attorney-client relationship. She advises on loss and expense reserves, loss analysis, application of insurance assets, subrogation and cost recovery, national litigation strategies to increase efficiency and profit opportunities, and overall run-off strategies.
Kelly’s practice also includes complex insurance, reinsurance, and defense matters ranging from pre-suit investigation, coverage and liability analysis through litigation and trial. Kelly is often selected to represent large institutional clients in high-stakes litigation involving declaratory judgment, breach of contract, bad faith and class action matters. She defends pre-suit and litigation matters involving complex liability and damages defenses. The breadth of Kelly’s practice includes, but is not limited to construction losses, and premises liability, contract dispute, liquor liability, product liability and professional liability matters in state and federal courts across Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts and in the District of Massachusetts and the District of Nebraska. Kelly is regularly asked to serve as pro hac vice counsel across the country in complex coverage and defense matters. She also has experience litigating before the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). She has accrued an impressive record of dispositive motion wins and favorable verdicts. Kelly has tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions.
Kelly has been named a Connecticut Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2018 to 2023. She is Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association and a past Treasurer. She is Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Connecticut Chapter. Kelly testified before the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut legislature in support of amendments to Connecticut statute affecting the collateral source rule in Connecticut. She is a Member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and Defense Research Institute (DRI). Kelly regularly presents to clients, trade organizations and insurance companies regarding insurance coverage, extracontractual liability, and defense matters.
Kelly loves to travel and explore new areas of the world. When she is not traveling, Kelly spends most of her time exploring some of the best hiking New England has to offer with her dog Beau. She is also the Secretary for the Board of Directors of the Quinnipiac University School of Law Alumni Association.
Education
Quinnipiac University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, B.A., cum laude
Honors
Named a 2023 "Phenom Under 40" by CLM Alliance (Claims and Litigation Management Alliance)
Co-Recipient of the Andrew C. Heckner Award, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), 2023
Connecticut Super Lawyers, Rising Star 2018-2024
Professional Leadership
Connecticut State Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association (CDLA)
First Vice President, June 2024-Present
Second Vice President, October 2023-June 2024
Secretary, June 2023-October 2023
Treasurer, June 2022-2023
Member, Board of Directors, June 2020-June2022
Chair, Young Lawyers Committee, June 2020-June 2022
Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
Director of Events, December 2023-Present
Secretary, Connecticut Chapter, December 2022-December 2023
Defense Research Institute (DRI)
Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
Representative Matters
Obtained summary judgment for insurer declaring no duty to defend or indemnify in relation to allegations of negligent assault
Obtained directed verdict following plaintiff's case in chief in neighboring property claims for damages allegedly related to a home heating oil spill
Obtained summary judgment in the District of Connecticut on behalf of insurer on the grounds of late notice and breach of policy conditions resulting in withdrawal of defense in the underlying suit involving construction loss claims
Appeared pro hac vice on behalf of insurer in the District of Rhode Island and obtained summary judgment on the grounds of late notice and breach of policy conditions resulting in withdrawal of defense in the underlying suit involving construction loss claims
Defended owner and keeper of dog in strict liability dog bite trial before a jury resulting in award substantially less than last offer, and Offer of Compromise strategically filed on behalf of clients prior to trial
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of property owner in trip and fall action having established that the property was a “wholly-demised premises” rented to the doughnut shop tenant and the property owner owed no legal duty to plaintiff
Defended insurer in the District of Connecticut against assigned benefits action asserting stipulated judgment pursuant to the direct action statute obtaining summary judgment on the grounds that there was no duty to defend or indemnify the underlying suit pursuant to the controlled substances exclusion in the homeowners insurance policy
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of property owner in slip and fall action on the grounds that it did not have possession or control of the property, and had neither actual, nor constructive notice of the alleged defective condition
Community
Quinnipiac University School of Law Alumni Association
Secretary, May 2022-Present
Member, Board of Directors, May 2019-May 2022
Presentations
Presenter, “Connecticut Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists Cases,” CDLA Fall Meeting, November 15, 2024
Presenter, “An Insured’s Duties under the Policy: Policy Conditions and the Enforcement of the Insurer’s Rights,” Webinar, November 5, 2024
Presenter, “The Importance of Pre-suit Investigation in Third Party Liability and First Party Coverage Matters,” Webinar, September 17, 2024
Presenter, “The Innocent Coinsured and the Intentional Act Exclusion,” IASIU Annual Meeting, August 2024
Presenter & Lead Instructor, Coverage Bootcamp, CLM Annual Meeting, April 2024
Panelist, "Phenoms Unleashed," CLM 2024 Annual Conference, April 3, 2024
Presenter, "Natural Tensions Within The Law Firm And Insurer Relationship And How To Dispel Them," CLM Focus, December 2023
Presenter, "Effective Management of Panel Counsel," Webinar, November 7, 2023
Presenter, "Preparing your Claim File for Trial," Webinar, September 28, 2023
Presenter, "The Future of the Construction Industry," AIRROC Spring Meeting, March 15, 2023
Presenter, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…A Video’s Worth Exponentially More,” CLM Annual Meeting, March 2023
Faculty, “School of Extra-Contractual Claims,” CLM Claims College, 2022-2024
Presenter, “Don’t Call Them a Claims Manual!: The Role that Insurer Claims Guidelines and Best Practices Can Play in Extra-Contractual Claims and Litigation,” CLMFocus, December 2022
Presenter, “The Basics of Declination and Reservation of Rights Letters,” Webinar, November 8, 2022
Presenter, “Handling Claims in Good Faith and Effective File Documentation,” Webinar, October 18, 2022
Presenter, “Depositions of Claims Professionals and Corporate Representatives,” Webinar, September 20, 2022
Presenter, How Coverage Counsel Are Straying From Their Legal Lanes and Acting as Adjuster and Defense Counsel, NAMIC, August 17, 2022
Co-host, “I Love Insurance Club” on Clubhouse, and “I Love Insurance Club Replays” on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and Amazon Music, August 2021-August 2022
Moderator/Presenter, “Next Generation CLE Series,” Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association, 2020-2022
Presenter, “Nobody Better Lay a Finger on My Claim File: How Insurers May Preserve Attorney-Client Privilege While Working With Insurance Coverage Counsel,” CLMFocus, June 2022
Presenter, “‘Don’t Ever Take Sides With Anyone Against The Family Again’: Effective Resolution of Additional Insured Disputes Between Insurance Companies,” CLM Annual Meeting, March 2022
Presenter, “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car: And Other Insurance Coverage Considerations for Ride-Sharing and Delivery Drivers,” CLMFocus, December 2021
Panelist, Cyber Security Panel, Housing Authority Risk Management Summit, November 17, 2020
Publications
Author, "Crowd-Struck: Testing Claims and Coverage, Analyzing the Impact of the Massive Crowdstrike Outage," CLM Magazine, September/October 2024
Author, “Ingenuity Proves Inadequate: Connecticut Supreme Court Rejects Attempts to Create Coverage for Uninsured COVID-19 Losses,” CDLA’s The Defense, Spring 2023
Author, “The Evolution of Litigation Immunity in the Context of Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation,” FDCC Insights Magazine, Fall 2022
Author, “Layers of Liability: Bad Faith and the Interplay Between Primary, Excess, and Umbrella Coverages,” CLM Magazine, July 2022
Author, “The Battle for the Supremes: Appellate Courts Prove Elusive in the Quest for Coverage for COVID-19-Related Claims,” CDLA’s The Defense, Spring 2022
Quoted, “Memorial Day Kicks Off Summer’s Potential Insurance Risks,” Law360, May 27, 2022
Quoted, “Mass. Virus Ruling Sounds Death Knell, Insurance Attys Say,” Law360, April 22, 2022
Quoted, “New Year’s Eve Countdown Of Insurance Litigation,” Law360, December 22, 2021
Quoted, “Turkeys, Corn, Fire: Insurance Suits For This Thanksgiving,” Law360, November 24, 2021
Quoted, “Tales From The Claims Files: Halloween Insurance Cases,” Law360, October 29, 2021
Author, “Business Interruption Coverage in a Covid-19 World,” CDLA’s The Defense, Spring 2021, MassDLA 2021 July/August Newsletter