Thomas Kelly is of counsel in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. He is a former Chair for the Americas of the firm’s Insurance Industry Group and has represented insurance companies in a broad range of capital markets and M&A transactions. Chambers USA (2024) recommends Mr. Kelly as a leading insurance transactional and regulatory lawyer. In previous editions of the guide, clients have described him as “sharp, insightful and resourceful.” They also note that he is “well respected,” a “standout attorney,” “practical, knowledgeable and insightful,” and praise his “stellar reputation,” reporting that he is “extremely intellectually focused and very diligent.” He has acted as company counsel on several of the major U.S. life insurer demutualizations and was named a 2002 “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer for his work on the IPO and demutualization of Principal Financial Group.
Mr. Kelly is chair of the Insurance Law Committee of the New York State Bar Association, is chair of the Corporate Section of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel, has served as a member of the Insurance Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and was a major contributor to the book Modern Investment Management and the Prudent Man Rule (Oxford University Press 1986), written by Debevoise partner Bevis Longstreth. Mr. Kelly is a member of the board of directors of The Royal Oak Foundation.
Mr. Kelly is the co-author of numerous articles, including “Federal Reserve Publishes Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking On Capital Requirements For Insurers,” FC&S Legal (July, 2016); “Federal Reserve Proposes Enhanced Prudential Standards For Insurance SIFIs,” FC&S Legal (July, 2016); “Developments At The NAIC Spring Meeting,” Parts 1–3, Law360 (April–May, 2016); “Report On The NAIC 2015 Summer National Meeting,” FC&S Legal (November, 2015); “NAIC Begins To Develop A Group Capital Measure For U.S. Insurance Enterprises,” FC&S Legal (August, 2015); “NAIC 2015 Spring National Meeting,” Insurance Coverage Law Report (May/June, 2015); “IAIS Issues Consultation On Global Insurance Capital Standard,” Canadian Insurance Regulation Reporter (February, 2015); “Takeaways From The 21st Annual IAIS Conference,” Law360 (November, 2014); “Rector-Modified Recommendations to NAIC Task Force on Financing of XXX and AXXX Reserves,” FC&S Legal (August, 2014); “Citing Private Equity Concerns, New York Department of Financial Services Proposes Increased Scrutiny and Disclosure for Acquisitions of New York Domestic and Commercially Domiciled Insurers,” FC&S Legal (June, 2014); and “Report on the NAIC 2014 Spring National Meeting,” FC&S Legal’s “Eye on the Experts” blog (April, 2014).
Mr. Kelly joined the firm in 1984 and became a partner in 1993. He received his A.B. cum laude from Columbia University in 1979 and his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1983, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review. Mr. Kelly served as a law clerk to the Hon. Eugene H. Nickerson, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, from 1983 to 1984.
Thomas Kelly律师是德普的公司业务合伙人，并担任保险业务团队美洲地区的主管。他曾代表多家保险公司进行各类资本市场和并购交易。《美国钱伯斯》（2022年）评价其为保险交易和合规业务领域的顶尖律师，其中有客户描述Kelly律师“敏锐、有见地、足智多谋。”在该指南的往期版本中，客户表示Kelly律师“备受尊敬”、是一名“杰出的律师”、“讲求实际、知识渊博、见解深刻”，并赞扬他“极高的声誉”，称其“做事极其讲求逻辑、勤奋细致。” Kelly律师曾在数家大型美国人寿保险公司的公司化项目中担任公司法律顾问，并因其代表美国信安金融集团进行的首次公开发行和公司化项目而被《美国律师》评价为2002年“年度交易人”。
Kelly律师是纽约州律师协会保险法委员会的主席、寿险顾问协会公司部（Corporate Section of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel）的主席，同时也是纽约市律师协会保险法委员会的成员。Kelly律师是德普合伙人Bevis Longstreth所著《现代投资管理和审慎人规则》（牛津大学出版社，1986年）的主要供稿人。Kelly律师同时也担任皇家橡树基金会（The Royal Oak Foundation）的董事会成员。
Kelly律师是多篇文章的合著者，其中包括“Federal Reserve Publishes Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking On Capital Requirements For Insurers”，《FC&S Legal》（2016年7月）；“Federal Reserve Proposes Enhanced Prudential Standards For Insurance SIFIs”，《FC&S Legal》（2016年7月）；“Developments At The NAIC Spring Meeting”第一至三部分，《Law 360》（2016年4至5月）；“Report On The NAIC 2015 Summer National Meeting”，《FC&S Legal》（2015年11月）；“NAIC Begins To Develop A Group Capital Measure For U.S. Insurance Enterprises”，《FC&S Legal》（2015年8月）；“NAIC 2015 Spring National Meeting”，《Insurance Coverage Law Report》（2015年5/6月）；“IAIS Issues Consultation On Global Insurance Capital Standard”，《Canadian Insurance Regulation Reporter》（2015年2月）；“Takeaways From The 21st Annual IAIS Conference”，《Law360》（2014年11月）；“Rector-Modified Recommendations to NAIC Task Force on Financing of XXX and AXXX Reserves”，《FC&S Legal》（2014年8月）；“Citing Private Equity Concerns, New York Department of Financial Services Proposes Increased Scrutiny and Disclosure for Acquisitions of New York Domestic and Commercially Domiciled Insurers”，《FC&S Legal》（2014年6月）及“Report on the NAIC 2014 Spring National Meeting”，《FC&S Legal》的“Eye on the Experts”博客（2014年4月）。
Kelly律师于1984年加入德普并于1993年成为合伙人。他于1979年以优等成绩毕业于哥伦比亚大学，并获得文学士学位。Kelly律师于1983年以优等生成绩毕业于哈佛大学法学院，并获得法律博士学位，在哈佛大学求学期间，他还是《哈佛法律评论》期刊的成员。Kelly律师在1983年至1984年期间在纽约东区地区法院担任Eugene H. Nickerson法官的法律助理。