Overview
Kelli E. Ward is a litigation associate in Glaser Weil’s Century City office who represents individual and corporate clients in a broad range of complex disputes across state and federal courts and arbitration. Her practice spans complex commercial litigation, including matters involving entertainment and media, technology, financial services, securities and employment disputes.
Kelli has experience handling all phases of litigation, including pleadings, discovery, motion practice, arbitration proceedings and appellate advocacy. She routinely drafts pre-suit correspondence, dispositive and procedural motions and appellate briefing, and has appeared before California trial courts. Kelli manages high-volume, multi-party matters, prepares fact and expert witnesses, and works directly with clients and counsel to develop and execute litigation strategy. She has second-chaired expert depositions and played a key role in securing case dismissals through motion practice, including multiple dismissals in arbitration and court proceedings.
Kelli’s practice primarily focuses on:
- Commercial and business disputes
- Technology, media and entertainment litigation
Prior to joining Glaser Weil, Kelli practiced at an Am Law 100 firm in San Francisco, where she maintained a high-volume litigation docket and represented clients in complex, high-stakes matters. She earned her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law, where she was a recipient of the Reynoso Academic Achievement Award and a regional winner of the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition.
Before entering the legal profession, Kelli spent a decade at a leading global talent agency, rising to Head of the Story Department. In that role, she managed teams, evaluated intellectual property across film and television, and developed deep experience in media and entertainment, which informs her litigation practice today.
She also holds an M.F.A., with distinction, in Writing for Screen and Television from the University of Southern California, where her thesis screenplay was recognized for exceptional achievement. Kelli earned her B.A. in Mass Communications from Xavier University of Louisiana.
Results
Kelli’s notable experience includes her representation of:
- A global technology company in a high-volume enterprise litigation docket involving platform liability and statutory immunity defenses.
- A high-profile individual, in settling a joint venture dispute, including drafting cease-and-desist correspondence and negotiating directly with opposing counsel to resolve financial allocation claims.
- Technology and entertainment stakeholders in high-exposure defamation litigation in Los Angeles Superior Court arising from widely distributed digital content.
- An organization subject to a federal antitrust investigation, contributing to a Department of Justice No-Action Letter after a multi-year inquiry.
Awards and Recognition
Awards and Recognition
“Outstanding Contributor” award recipient, Lawyers for Civil Justice, 2023
Leadership and Community
Fellow, Lawyers for Civil Justice, 2023-26
Member, Charles Houston Bar Association
Member, American Bar Association
Member, San Francisco Bar Association
Member, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
Member, NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee
Services
Industries
Education
University of California, Davis School of Law, J.D., 2022
University of Southern California, M.F.A, 2007
Xavier University of Louisiana, B.A., 2004
Admissions
- California
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