Her practice includes representation of mutual funds and their boards of directors, money managers, broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions in connection with investment company, investment adviser, broker-dealer and insurance product matters, including securities, regulatory, product design and transaction counseling.

Ms. O’Kelly counsels boards of directors of investment companies, and in particular independent directors, on their special responsibilities. 

Ms. O’Kelly began her legal career with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, where she worked on the Investment Company Act Special Study and served as Special Counsel in the Division of Investment Management until 1983.

Ms. O’Kelly is co-author of an article published in the DePaul Business Journal entitled “Soft Dollars and Other Traps for the Investment Adviser: An Analysis of Brokerage Placement Practices.” She has served as Chair of the Investment Company Subcommittee of the Chicago Bar Association. Ms. O’Kelly has also served as a trustee of the College of William and Mary Foundation.

The Legal 500 United States guide recommends Ms. O’Kelly in the Investment Fund Formation and Management—Mutual/ Registered Funds category, and she received an “AV Preeminent” Peer Rating in Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. O’Kelly was selected for inclusion from 2012 to 2018 in Illinois Super Lawyers and was named one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Illinois” in 2013 and 2014. Since 2014, she was ranked by Chambers USA in the Nationwide Investment Funds: Registered Funds category and by Chambers Global since 2020. Ms. O'Kelly has also been selected by her peers as a Leading Lawyer since 2008 in Corporate Finance and Securities & Venture Finance Law.