Claude J. Kelly, JD

Mr. Kelly is a New Orleans native and a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Tulane Law School. From 1987 to 1990, he worked as an Assistant District Attorney for Orleans Parish, serving as a Senior Trial Attorney. Thereafter, he was the general manager of Kolb's German Restaurant. In 1992, Mr. Kelly became an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and held that position until 2000, when he rejoined the private sector. After working as the Director of International Sales for Optimal Healthcare in Miami, Florida, and Legal Counsel for the International Exchange Group in Washington, D.C., Mr. Kelly returned to New Orleans in 2006 and went into the private practice of law. He also worked at the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana. In addition, he served as a panel attorney of both the Criminal Justice Act in the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Fraternal Order of Police. In June of 2014, Mr. Kelly was appointed by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to serve as the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In 2016, Mr. Kelly was nominated by President Barack Obama to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. While the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved him, his nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress. Mr. Kelly is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Holy Cross Lawyers Association.