Olivia Kelly - New York, NY

Attorney Olivia Kelly is an attorney at Simmons Hanly Conroy where she focuses her practice on helping individuals and families impacted by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Based in the firm’s New York office, Olivia participates in every stage of litigation as an asbestos attorney but focuses on motions and appellate practice. She utilizes her skills in legal research and writing to strategize innovative ways to advocate and obtain successful results for her clients.

“Each client has a different story and set of circumstances that requires not only individualized attention to detail, but empathy and respect as well,” Olivia said. “Clients can expect all of this from me as we work together to secure the justice they deserve.”

Before becoming a member of the firm’s legal team, Olivia served as a Senior Appellate Court Attorney for the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department in Brooklyn, New York. The Second Department hears appeals from all trial courts across 10 counties in lower New York State. As a Senior Appellate Court Attorney, Olivia assisted the Justices of the Court by reviewing records for cases on appeal, conducting exhaustive research on the relevant laws, and issuing recommendations as to how cases should be resolved. From working at the Second Department, Olivia not only gained valuable insight into the judicial process, but she also mastered the research and writing skills that are critical to obtaining an optimal trial result and defending that result, where necessary, on appeal.

Olivia graduated from the City University of New York School of Law. In law school, she served as Staff Editor of the City University of New York Law Review and as a student attorney in the Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic. She also worked as a legal intern at the Urban Justice Center’s Domestic Violence Project and the Legal Aid Society’s Office for the Aging. Olivia’s focus on helping others was cultivated by her mother’s example, who founded Family-to-Family, a non-profit hunger-relief organization, for which Olivia volunteers in her spare time.

“My decision to become an attorney stems from my experience growing up in a family that prioritized helping others,” she said. “Watching my mother engage in such important work inspired me to devote my own career to making a meaningful difference in others’ lives. I went to law school in order to learn how to use the law as a tool to most effectively carry out that goal.”

Olivia currently lives in New York City with her husband and their chocolate lab, Kona.