Lawyers
John J. Kelly - Shareholder
I practice in the following areas:
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Evaluation, Commercial Litigation, Energy and Utilities, Environmental, Litigation, Lobbying, Real Estate and Zoning, Regulatory Practice
Practice
Mr. Kelly represents corporations and business professionals in federal civil litigation and as an appellate advocate. He also maintains an administrative practice before local, state and federal rulemaking and adjudicatory agencies. His recent substantive litigation has included real estate, land use and zoning disputes, contracts, business torts, securities and environmental remediation. A former U.S. Attorney, Mr. Kelly handles compliance and enforcement matters for companies in regulated industries. He also counsels clients that are the subject of state or federal criminal investigations.
Representative Cases
- Alba v. Peoples Energy Resources Corp., 2004 NMCA 084
- U.S. v. Barajas-Chavez, 162 F.3rd 1285 (10th Cir. En banc 1999)
- Pueblo of Santa Ana v. Kelly, 932 F. Supp. 1284, 104 F.3rd 1546 (10th Cir. 1997)
- U.S. v. Evans, 42 F.3rd 586 (10th Cir. 1994)
- U.S. v. Chavez-Palacios, 30 F.3rd 1290 (10th Cir.1994)
- Morris v. Watt, 640 F.2d 404 (D.C. Cir. 1981)
- Klumker v. Allred, 112 N.M. 42, 811 P.2d 75 (1991)
- National Indian Youth Council v. Watt, 664 F. 2d 220 (10th Cir. 1981)
- National Indian Youth Council v. Andrus, 501 F. Supp. 649, 623 F.2d 694 (10th Cir. 1980)
- Harjo v. Andrus, 581 F. 2d 949 (D.C. Cir. 1978).
Government Service
Mr. Kelly served as United States Attorney for New Mexico from 1993 to 2000, and as the U.S. Southwest Border Representative from 1998-2000. In the former position he prosecuted the first narcotics racketeering cases in New Mexico as well as several significant health care fraud cases. He obtained the country's first conviction of a U.S. corporation for smuggling and harboring illegal aliens. He also directed a sensitive computer forensic investigation at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1999. As the Justice Department liaison to the southwest border, Mr. Kelly frequently traveled throughout the U.S.- Mexico border region meeting with Mexican and U.S. officials on a variety of law enforcement, trade and immigration issues. Within the U.S. Attorney community Mr. Kelly was a leader on issues affecting Indian Country, including Indian Gaming, public lands and resource issues, and public safety.
Civic Activities
Mr. Kelly has been active in civic and public life in New Mexico for 30 years. In 2000 he was the Democratic nominee for Congress in New Mexico's 1st congressional district. In Spring 2001 he chaired an eighteen-member commission charged with redrawing Albuquerque's city council districts following the 2000 federal census. He is a past, elected County Commissioner, a former chair of the Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments, a member of the region's Urban Transportation Planning and Policy Board, and a past member and chair of the New Mexico State Personnel Board. In 2005, at Governor Richardson's request, Mr. Kelly mediated the state's Payday loan controversy between industry and consumer advocate representatives. In 2007 the New Mexico legislature enacted new legislation directly regulating the Payday loan industry.
Publications
- The Offensive Use of Collateral Estoppel in Suits Against Public Agencies, 12 University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform 303 (Winter 1980) (co-authored with David Rothenberg).
- Federal Jurisdiction Over Federal Welfare Claims, 60 Cornell Law Review 800 (June 1975) (co-authored with David Rothenberg).
Education
- Cornell University Law School, Juris Doctor, 1974
- Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, B.S.F.S. 1969
Bar Admissions
New York 1975, New Mexico 1977. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth, Second and District of Columbia Circuits.
