Kelsey L. Stokes joined the firm of Fleming | Nolen | Jez, L.L.P. in 2010. She practices primarily in the areas of mass tort litigation, products liability, and complex commercial litigation, including appellate practice.
In September 2018, Kelsey was appointed by the United States Southern District of Ohio as Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in MDL No. 2846, In re Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation. Kelsey also serves on the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee of MDL 2753, In re Atrium Medical Corp. C-QUR Mesh Products Liability Litigation. In addition to her leadership roles at the federal level, Kelsey was appointed to the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in three New Jersey state court consolidated actions against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon, Inc.: MCL 627, In re Physiomesh Litigation; MCL 630, In Re: Proceed Mesh Litigation; and MCL 633, In re Prolene Hernia System Mesh Litigation. Kelsey was also elected Co-Chair of the American Association for Justice Hernia Mesh Litigation Group by her peers.
Recognized as a national leader in hernia mesh litigation, Kelsey spends countless hours guiding fellow plaintiffs' lawyers across the country on case evaluation and filing strategy in multiple jurisdictions.
Prior to leading the hernia mesh docket, Kelsey played an integral role in litigating FNJ's transvaginal mesh docket to a successful resolution. Her work in the various transvaginal mesh MDLs gave her a wealth of knowledge overlapping with the knowledge required to successfully litigate hernia mesh cases.
Kelsey has regular speaking engagements, sharing the knowledge she has gained studying the science and legal issues applicable to mesh litigation with other national mass tort lawyers.
Litigating throughout the country, Kelsey has taken hundreds of depositions, including depositions of expert witnesses, prescribing physicians, implanting physicians, and corporate witnesses. Kelsey has defended the leading experts in their fields as well as hundreds of plaintiffs injured by various medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs. She regularly argues at hearings throughout the country and coordinates large-scale briefing on behalf of the MDL and FNJ's clients, including at the appellate level.
Kelsey also managed the firm's GranuFlo docket from case filing to resolution, successfully navigating clients through the settlement claims process. In addition to the above litigations, Kelsey performed considerable work on the Wright Hip and Accutane Litigations as well as Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), in which she was co-counsel in the first TRT trial in Cook County, Illinois.
Kelsey's practice also includes complex commercial litigation in federal and state court, and arbitration, resulting in multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts. Examples include arbitrations where she represented health-care providers in contractual and payment disputes with insurers; a massive Ponzi scheme; and an off-shore commercial oil dispute. Kelsey's experience also extends to catastrophic aviation accidents.
Education & Memberships
Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. She received her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, where she served as Chief Managing Editor of the Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law.
Kelsey is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Western, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She is a member of the American Association for Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and Houston Trial Lawyers Association.
