Biography

Deborah Kelly has significant experience in mass tort and complex environmental litigation matters, assisting attorneys in a wide variety of federal and state litigation, including product liability actions, cost recovery/contribution cases, citizen lawsuits, natural resource damages, and enforcement actions. Her experience in environmental counseling matters includes coordinating complex due diligence projects and conducting research and analysis on domestic and international product stewardship issues.

Deborah has managed several complex and document intensive matters from inception to trial. She served as lead paralegal in defending a Fortune 50 company on a multi-billion dollar, precedent-setting natural resource damages matter providing support during the multi-week pretrial conferences. She has served as case manager in the defense of 10,000+ plaintiff toxic tort claims and in defending a nationally known pharmaceutical company in product liability claims arising from adverse drug reactions.

She is an integral member of environmental litigation teams, efficiently handling voluminous facts and documents electronically, and proficiently identifying, investigating, and deciphering factual issues. She is also experienced in navigating document research and collection from governmental agencies.

Deborah is actively involved in the Paralegal Department at Farella providing training for junior level paralegals and presenting seminars on relevant professional issues for the paralegal.

Memberships and Affiliations

  • San Francisco Paralegal Association

Firm Highlights

News

Farella Awards 2024 Diversity Scholarships to Bay Area Law Students

Farella Braun + Martel’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion + Belonging Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2024 Diversity Scholarship grants totaling $45,000 to Bay Area first-year law students Marcus Albino, Saamia Haqiq...

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News

Farella Braun + Martel Earns San Francisco Green Business Recertification

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Event

Unplugged: The Renewable Energy Speaker Series - The IRA's Environmental Justice Incentive Programs

Join Farella Braun + Martel and the Environmental Law Institute for the relaunch Unplugged: The Renewable Energy Speaker Series with Farella’s John Ugai and guest speakers Miana Campbell with U.S. Department of Energy, Maria Castillo with...

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Publication

New PFAS Federal Drinking Water Standards Create Major Liability and Litigation Risk

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has released a final regulation setting individual drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for five per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These MCLs are incredibly stringent due to EPA’s stated concerns...

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News

JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'

Intellectual property practice chair Eugene Mar provided expert commentary to American Banker for the article "JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'." In the article, he said: "By filing this as a trade...

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Publication

New PFAS Listing Under Superfund Will Lead to Major Expansion of Liability

On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under Section 102(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation...

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Event

AI and Privacy: What Every Company Needs to Do Today

Sushila Chanana and Benjamin Buchwalter will discuss "AI and Privacy: What Every Company Needs to Do Today' at the ACC 2024 Privacy Summit.  This session will introduce basics of AI governance, such as ownership...

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Publication

California Regulation of Charitable Fundraising Platforms Part 2 - Reporting Due Diligence, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Rules

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . This episode covers the provisions of California’s Charitable Fundraising Platforms law (Gov. Code, § 12599.9) relevant to all covered charitable fundraisers and fundraising...

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Publication

Copyright Law for Influencers and Brands: How Content Creators and Companies Hiring Them Can Navigate Copyright Law for a Successful Partnership

In recent years, the advent of the social media “influencer” has revolutionized advertising. Companies often partner with influencers to market their products, hoping to tap into the influencer’s devoted audience. Likewise, influencers create certain content...

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News

Burdened by Debt, Savvy SF Office Owners Get Creative

Restructuring, insolvency, and creditors rights partner Gary Kaplan provided expert commentary in The San Francisco Standard article, "Burdened by Debt, Savvy SF Office Owners Get Creative." In the article, Gary explained that in most cases...

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