Kelly Wetzel is Special Counsel to the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. Prior to joining the firm in 2000, he was in-house counsel for ExxonMobil for 20 years. He practices in the litigation group and represents local, regional and national energy and petrochemical companies in litigation involving oil field personal injury, labor and employment, and mass toxic tort.

Kelly has particular experience in litigation involving mass toxic torts resulting from industrial explosions and/or fires. While attending law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Harry T. Lemmon of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and later served as Deputy Clerk of Court for the Fourth Circuit.

Representative Experience

• Representation of a major energy producer in a $50 million class action lawsuit resulting from an oil refinery explosion and fire.
• Representation of a major chemical company in a $100 million class action lawsuit involving eight defendants and more than 23,000 plaintiffs.

Education

Kelly earned his A.B. from Loyola University in 1967 and his M.A. from Louisiana State University of New Orleans in 1972. He earned his J.D. from the Loyola Law School in 1974.

Admissions

• Admitted to bar, 1974, Louisiana
• Admitted, U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana
• Admitted, U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits

Memberships

• Louisiana State Bar Association
• Louisiana Bar Foundation

Community Service

• Pro Bono Volunteer, New Orleans Pro Bono Project.

Authorships

• Editor-in-Chief, Louisiana Bar Foundation Annual, 1992.