Michael Kelso is a skilled trial lawyer with landmark wins for plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes commercial cases across the country. Kelso has recovered more than half a billion dollars for plaintiffs and successfully defeated multi-billion-dollar claims for his defense-side clients.
Kelso combines strategic vision with skillful execution—compelling writing, thoughtful legal and factual analysis, and gifted courtroom advocacy. This approach has led to success for his clients in federal and state courts and in arbitrations across a broad range of subject areas: antitrust, securities fraud, energy, finance, breach of contract disputes, executive compensation, partnership breakups, even alcohol regulation.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2026 | Commercial Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2025 | Commercial Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2024 | Commercial Litigation |
| Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2023 | Commercial Litigation |
PROMINENT WINS
Plaintiff-Side
- Over three trials in three months in 2025 and 2026, Kelso secured judgments totaling over $400 million for survivors of the 2020 Labor Day Fires in Oregon against private utility company PacifiCorp. Kelso took on key roles at trial. He selected the jury in two cases, prepared and presented on direct examination thirteen plaintiffs, and delivered two closing arguments. The verdict Kelso helped win in the second of those trials is three times larger than any other award in the ongoing trials to address individual damages against PacifiCorp.
- Recovered over half a billion dollars in settlements (so far) in the Libor antitrust case, won class certification* for the direct-purchaser plaintiffs on their antitrust claims, and recently won a significant appellate victory defeating jurisdictional challenges by major foreign-bank defendants.
- Argued against and successfully defeated the defendants’ motion to dismiss and then secured a $6.25 million settlement ($4.1 million net of fees and expenses) in a federal securities-fraud class action by Bristow Group Inc. shareholders.
Defense-Side
- Won a major summary judgment victory for Vitol in federal court defeating claims by Puerto Rico’s public utility seeking to nullify six fuel-supply contracts and recover nearly $4 billion in payments. The Court also awarded Vitol a full recovery on its counterclaim ($41.4 million with interest). Kelso wrote Vitol’s summary judgment briefs and argued for Vitol at the summary judgment hearing.
- Won complete dismissal of a $10 billion lawsuit brought by a special purpose litigation entity purported to bring Civil RICO and antitrust claims on behalf of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company against more than 40 defendants. Kelso successfully led the joint defense group’s legal briefing challenging the plaintiff’s standing to bring the lawsuit. Less than 9 months after the case was filed, the Magistrate Judge recommended dismissal, and the District Court adopted that recommendation and dismissed the case in its entirety a few months later.