Eastern District of Virginia Federal Judge Walter D. Kelley, Jr. joins Jones Day's Washington D.C. office
June 2008
Washington D.C. - The international law firm Jones Day announced today that Walter D. Kelley, Jr., formerly United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, has joined the Firm's Washington D.C. Office as a partner. He will be part of the Firm's Trial Practice.
"We are excited to have a lawyer of Judge Kelley's experience and stature joining us," said Mary Ellen Powers, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Washington D.C. Office. "He brings to the table not only valuable perspective from his time on the bench but also deep experience serving clients in private practice."
President Bush nominated Judge Kelley in 2003 and he was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate. As a federal judge, he has heard both criminal and civil cases, including intellectual property, antitrust, and securities law disputes.
"The Eastern District of Virginia is one of the most important and active litigation venues in the country," said Thomas F. Cullen Jr., a Washington-based partner who leads Jones Day's firmwide Trial Practice. "Walt Kelley can provide our clients with singular experience and credibility there, as well as becoming a leading figure in our national practice."
Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kelley was in private practice for 23 years, specializing in commercial, antitrust and intellectual property litigation. He handled cases in courts throughout the United States and has tried more than twenty-five jury cases to verdict. While in private practice, Judge Kelley was elected to Best Lawyers in America and the Legal Elite of Virginia and held a number of bar positions, including chairing the Virginia State Bar's Young Lawyers Conference and its Section of Antitrust Law. He currently serves as adjunct professor of law at Regent University, where he teaches antitrust law and federal courts.
Judge Kelley graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1977 and magna cum laude from the University's School of Law in 1981. Upon graduation, Judge Kelley clerked for Judge Ellsworth Van Graafeiland of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City.
Jones Day is an international law firm with 30 locations in centers of business and finance throughout the world. With more than 2,300 lawyers, including more than 400 in Europe, and 200 in Asia, it ranks among the world's largest law firms. Jones Day acts as principal outside counsel to, or provides significant legal representation for, more than half of the Fortune Global 500 companies. Jones Day's Washington office was established in 1946 and today has more than 200 lawyers practicing in an historic office building across the street from the U.S. Capitol.