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Thomas B. Kelley, a partner of the firm, has represented news media organizations in libel, invasion of privacy, copyright and related First Amendment matters in courts around the country for more than 30 years.  His work includes trying and arguing the appeal in Diversified Management, Inc., v. The Denver Post, Inc., 653 P.2d 1103 (1982), in which Colorado adopted the New York Times "actual malice" rule as applicable in Colorado cases brought by private individuals that involve matters of public or general concern. He also wrote the principal amicus curiæ briefs in Dileo v. Koltnow, 613 P.2d 318 (Colo. 1980), in which the Colorado Supreme Court established heightened standards that must be met by a libel plaintiff opposing summary judgment, and in NBC Subsidiary (KCNC), Inc., v. Living Will Center, Inc., 879 P.2d 6 (Colo. 1994), which established the present Colorado standards protecting pure opinion.  Mr. Kelley drafted the amicus curiæ brief in Gordon v. Boyles, 9 P.3d 1106 (Colo. 2000), in which the Colorado Supreme Court established an enhanced burden for libel plaintiffs seeking to compel defendant journalists to identify confidential sources. He also represented the consortium of media organizations covering the Oklahoma City bombing cases, the JonBenét Ramsey murder case, and the proceedings in the Kobe Bryant rape trial. He was the principal legislative draftsman for the current open meetings provision of the Colorado Sunshine Act, § 24-72-401, et seq., C.R.S.

Mr. Kelley has served as Chair of the Forum on Communications Law of the American Bar Association, and is currently president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Council.  He is a past president of the Defense Counsel Section of the Media Law Resource Center, and is chair of the organization’s International Law Committee.  Mr. Kelley also was the principal draftsman for the chapters on defamation and privacy claims with the Colorado Supreme Court’s Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, which produces the state’s model jury instructions.  Mr. Kelley has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America from 1991 to the present, and is currently listed in Colorado Super Lawyers – constitutional law and civil rights, Chambers USA – intellectual property, The Legal 500, U.S. – media and entertainment, and Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (3rd Edition).

Mr. Kelley received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Denver in 1972.  He is admitted to practice law in the courts of Colorado, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  Mr. Kelley previously was a partner of the firm Faegre & Benson, LLP.