James M. Kelley

James (Jay) M. Kelley III is the Managing Partner of Elk + Elk and a medical malpractice and catastrophic injury trial attorney with more than 25 years of experience. He has tried approximately 100 jury cases and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. Jay focuses his practice on complex medical negligence and wrongful death litigation, including cases involving birth injury, maternal death, surgical error, cancer misdiagnosis, and other catastrophic injuries. Before joining Elk + Elk in 2002, he served as a felony prosecutor and later represented major hospital systems in medical malpractice defense. This dual background provides a strategic advantage in anticipating defense strategies and presenting complex medical issues effectively to juries. He has litigated cases throughout Ohio in state and federal courts and has appeared in appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Ohio. Jay has also held leadership roles in complex, high-profile litigation, including serving as lead counsel and court liaison in litigation arising from a major fertility clinic failure involving University Hospitals, and as a member of the plaintiffs’ leadership committee in litigation arising from the November 2024 Tusky Valley bus crash, where he was appointed liaison to defense counsel. In addition to his trial work, Jay is a contributing author to Comprehensive Gynecology and has served as a reviewer for Mosby’s Pocket Guide to Fetal Monitoring: A Multidisciplinary Approach. He frequently lectures to physician, nursing, and legal audiences on medical negligence and trial strategy. Jay has been recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyer since 2009 and was named among the Top 5 Ohio Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Plaintiff (2026). He has also been included in the Top 100 Ohio Super Lawyers and Top 50 Cleveland Super Lawyers multiple times and was named Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation in Cleveland (2026) and Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice Law in Cleveland (2021).