LEGAL ADVOCACY
Kelly’s interest in the law came during his undergraduate days after he took a government course on American constitutional law and audited a law course on the moral, political and legal theory of St. Thomas Aquinas. He went on to obtain a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Harvard Law School, completed a judicial clerkship and became an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. Throughout his career, he’s been a research fellow at Yale and Harvard, a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School and the Louis D. Brandeis Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School. “My legal mentors, especially Judge Richard Wesley, for whom I clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the partners and associates with whom I worked at Cravath, and my professors and colleagues, greatly
assisted my professional formation and development,” he says.
next? How do we dream big as a law school and do all of it in a way that advances the common good and promotes the rule of law in our communities, our country and around the globe? How do we continue to offer an innovative curriculum that emphasizes professional formation and achieves top placements for our students; recruit and hire top mission-aligned faculty; and expand and cultivate our network of alumni, employers and benefactors? “There is a lot of work to do, but together we will create a bold, ambitious vision and determine the objectives and resources we need to realize that vision. The law school’s future is bright, and I look forward to leading this community by listening to and learning from everyone who can help us to accomplish our mission.”
One of the most important lessons he learned, other than to listen, read and research carefully, is to prepare extensively. “For lawyers, it’s all about preparation, preparation, preparation,” he adds. “The best lawyers are the ones who prepare the most, pay closest attention to details and understand the needs of their clients.” Kelly says he will draw on that advice as he sets the course for St. Thomas Law’s next chapter. “The founding faculty and leaders of the School of Law, including President Rob Vischer as its former dean, have laid the cornerstone and established a strong foundation from which we can build,” he says. “The question now is where do we want to go
Spring 2024 Page 25
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