William and Mary Alumni Magazine | Spring 2008, Vol. 73, No. 3
Photo by Lee Weissman
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Kelley's involvement with the NFL is a family affair, as his father was a game official before him. During almost every New York Jets home game for the last 20 years, Kelley has held an important position as the on-field official who keeps track of which down the offense is on.
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If David N. Kelley '81 had his way, all anyone would know about him is that he works at a law firm as a "problem solver." Sure, he's served as a United States Attorney and helped prosecute some of the biggest cases in recent memory -- ones involving national security, terrorism, organized crime and even celebrity -- credentials that would rival those of someone like Eliot Ness. But Kelley keeps his mind on his always-present mission, and out of the headlines.
"I am looking to do right -- that [motivation] never goes away," says Kelley of his current position with a private firm in New York. He works with corporations to find ways out of financial and legal entanglements.
"I find it very interesting that these companies and individuals get into the situations that they do," says Kelley. "I try to find out all about their mess and help them figure a way out. Now in the age of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [which ties executive officers to decisions made throughout their company -- not just ones on which they signed off], it becomes very interesting to help companies navigate these waters."
This sort of legal assistance and navigation is quite different from what Kelley did in the public sphere. He served the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which includes the corporations of Manhattan, from 1988 to 2005, most notably as the United States Attorney from 2003-05, which meant supervision of the entire operation and its 255 lawyers.
Through that time, Kelley was involved personally with or supervised a seemingly endless list of high-profile cases. Those include convictions in the WorldCom and Adelphia Communications accounting fraud cases and for the Martha Stewart/ImClone insider trading case, indictments for the oil executives involved in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, investigations and prosecutions into organized crime and mob activities, and the prosecution of Ramzi Yousef, the so-called "Millennium Bombing Plot" mastermind. Kelley also served as a special assistant in Virginia, as acting co-lead prosecutor of the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh. He was involved with the investigation into the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen and participated in the probe of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
These experiences for Kelley were undoubtedly excellent preparation for what he would have to face next -- the worst terrorist attack in United States history. Kelley was named co-chair of the Justice Department's nationwide investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks -- after surviving them at the ground level.
"I was with the head of the FBI's New York office and we heard a big boom, which was just three blocks down from our office," remembers Kelley. "That was the first plane hitting the south tower. We ran down to the scene and conferred with some government officials -- but we had to run when the north tower was hit.
"Debris rained down and I ducked behind a curb. There was a huge gust of wind when the second tower collapsed. We all ran toward World Trade Center Seven as the debris hit and we were all covered. The FBI agent called me in as dead and I reported him as dead."
Kelley served the FBI and the Justice Department with the same calm demeanor that he had displayed throughout his career: the New York Times described him as having a "low profile" temperament. That and his excellent research skills helped him in the investigation -- as well as some creative analysis.
"For any professional who is going to be effective [during an investigation], you need to be able to step into their shoes," says Kelley. "You always try to understand why they did what they did, but also how they did it."
Though Kelley's public image is that of the square-jawed lawman, that is all it may be: an image. For those who know him, Kelley is a proud father and husband, outdoorsman and sports fan.
"He's one of the guys in every good sense of the phrase," says Mary Jo White J.D. '84. Kelley worked for White when she was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York as he was starting his career.
"He plays golf a lot and is a fitness aficionado," says White. "He's a real warm guy once you get beyond his G-Man facade. Dave is an all-around terrific lawyer and he gets into the trenches and rolls up his sleeves.
"Dave really loves his government service; it's in his blood. I also know that he's having a great time in the private sector," says White. "He could quite effectively run for office and I could see him becoming a judge one day."
Even through such important cases as the ones he has been involved with, Kelley still manages a poker face in the courtroom and in the public eye. But he does have one secret that helps him escape from the stress and weight of such trials.
"You absolutely feel the pressure when the stakes are high," comments Kelley. "In those situations, you just need to keep your blinders on, so to speak, and keep your eyes on the ball."
That ball could be the pigskin variety. On Sunday afternoons and some evenings since 1981, Kelley has been a "box man" for the National Football League. In this role, he helps to keep track of which down the teams are on, and he's only missed games when he was helping an investigation in Africa for the Justice Department.
"I worked one game the day before the jury summation for the World Trade Center bombing trial in 1993," says Kelley. "I was really well-prepared going into that summation, which turned out to be six hours long. For me, going to a football game is to get away from work and to enjoy something different."
Kelley says that the players know who he is, but they do not ask for legal advice when he's wearing the zebra stripes. And though pro football is an escape for him, Kelley can't get away from all its controversies either.
On Dec. 6, 1998, in front of 72,200 screaming fans at the Meadowlands, New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde scrambled and scored a touchdown against the visiting Seattle Seahawks, dashing their playoff hopes and enraging Seattle fans to this day. Testaverde lunged from five yards out -- and according to many did not score, even though he was credited with a touchdown. That play is considered one of the driving forces behind instant replay's return to the NFL.
Kelley was standing right there, watching the entire play unfold. Disgruntled Seahawks fans -- no matter what their opinion -- cannot appeal to a higher authority than instant replay, unlike the federal court system. And when pressed on the legitimacy of the disputed decision, the avid Jets fan has a few things to say.
"I have never found a parallel in the NFL rulebook to U.S. law," laughs Kelley. "And besides, the referee's call was upheld -- it still stands."
