Kelley F. Farrell
Member - St. LouisKelley Farrell is a member in the St. Louis office, concentrating her practice in real estate, employment, trust and estates and commercial litigation.
Kelley’s extensive real estate practice includes representing condemning authorities, developers, and property owners in eminent domain cases involving total and partial takings of commercial, residential, and industrial properties, landlord-tenant actions, and neighboring property disputes.
Her employment practice focuses on the defense of employment disputes in federal courts, state courts and administrative agencies. She also advises many retail, manufacturing, bank and service-oriented clients on a wide variety of issues, including hiring, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination laws, wage and hour laws, employee leave rights and workers’ compensation, among others. Her most recent jury trial victory was representing a large insurance company accused of race discrimination and retaliation in Jackson County in August 2023. After six days of trial, the jury rendered unanimous defense verdicts in favor of Kelley’s client.
Kelley has also litigated a wide variety of matters in the trust and estate area, including trust and will contests, claims for tortious interference with inheritance or expectancies, trust and will constructions, trust reformations and actions against Trustees for breach of fiduciary duties. In 2015, Kelley was a key member of the BBD trial team that secured a defense judgment in a multi-million dollar trust case in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County. That win was identified by Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly as one of the top five defense verdicts of that year.
Kelley’s commercial litigation experience includes serving as trial counsel in lawsuits for Fortune 500 companies and other corporations, privately held companies and individuals. Kelley prosecutes and defends a variety of commercial, business torts, contract and insurance-related litigation.
Kelley received her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Missouri in 1991. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis in 1994, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. Kelley currently serves as Adjunct Professor for Trial Practice for Washington University School of Law (2011-present). She is also a Master Member in the Theodore McMillian Inn of Court, the St. Louis Chapter of the American Inns of Court.
Honors
2015-2025 Best Lawyers in America2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers
2015 Largest Reported Defense Wins, Missouri Lawyers Weekly
2008 Rising Star, Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers
Education
J.D., Washington University, 1994B.A., University of Missouri, 1991
Admissions
MissouriIllinois