Always Fighting for What’s Right
Carol A. Shelly, the respected personal injury and wrongful death attorney who founded Shelly Law Offices LLC, has devoted her life to advocating for those who have been wronged.
by Phil Gianficaro

Carol A. Shelly realized what she wanted to do with her life while watching the Watergate hearings with her father. She was 13 years old at the time.
 
“I wanted to be the first woman D.A. in Philadelphia, but Lynne Abraham beat me to it,” says Shelly, who founded her Doylestown-based law firm, Shelly Law Offices LLC, in 2012. “I was just a kid in 1973, during the Watergate hearings, but I knew back then that I wanted to be a lawyer. And then, in time, I knew I wanted to advocate for people who couldn’t advocate for themselves.”
 
As a personal injury and wrongful death attorney for the past 37 years, Shelly is proof positive that childhood dreams can come true. She has built a successful career and earned a sterling reputation by achieving results for clients through a blend of fierceness, advocacy, and compassion.
 
“I’m committed to representing people who have been wronged, whether from malpractice or negligence or the wrongdoings of others,” Shelly adds. “I feel strongly that people need justice.”
 
Shelly has learned many vital lessons in the course of her decades-long career. From serving four years as an assistant public defender in Bucks County in the late 1980s, to 22 years at a private law firm in Bucks County, to the present as the leader of her own firm, she has become a highly sought-after plaintiff’s attorneys in Pennsylvania. At every step of the way, she has remained at the top of her profession due in large part to her meticulous preparation.
 
“Victory loves preparation,” she says. “And I’m always prepared. I can’t go to trial otherwise.”
 
Shelly’s successes in the courtroom have not gone unnoticed. In 2023, she was named to three prestigious Super Lawyer lists: Top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania, Top 100 Super Lawyers in Philadelphia, and Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania. In fact, she has been named a Super Lawyer nearly every one of the past 18 years. She has been recognized with an AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, a designation reflecting the admiration of her peers that ranks her at the highest level of professional excellence in legal knowledge, communication skills, and ethical standards. In addition, she has earned “top attorney” honors from several locally based publications, including Suburban Life.
 
Shelly appreciates the recognition, though she remains driven solely by the need to fight for the rights of her clients. As a public defender, Shelly defended a first-degree murder case in which DNA evidence was used for the first time in Pennsylvania (1988). Her clients have included many battered and abused women for whom she won justice. In 1989, she successfully defended a woman charged with first-degree murder, a case in which battered woman syndrome was first used as a defense in the state of Pennsylvania.
 
Regardless of the case or the circumstance, Shelly vows not to rest until justice is served. She cites a case involving a 56-year-old woman from Montgomery County who underwent a minor orthopedic procedure on her wrist. The patient did not live through the procedure.
 
“It was a seven-minute procedure,” Shelly says. “But they gave her too much medication too quickly and didn’t monitor it. This was six years ago. The family is still awaiting justice; it has been up on appeal twice. She has two grown sons and a couple of grandkids. These are the cases where I will fight for my clients.”
 
Another case Shelly took on involved alleged negligence at a nursing home that resulted in the patient’s death.
 
“They weren’t watching over her as they should and she fell and died,” Shelly says. “The place is one of the worst nursing homes in the country. My client was in her 90s. A lot of lawyers would say, ‘Well, she was 95.’ Not me. It was negligence. I believe if you don’t stand up for someone that vulnerable, if you don’t fight for them, you should probably be doing something else. I will hold people accountable for their actions.”
 
For anyone in need of a personal injury attorney, Shelly offers the following advice: Choose an attorney who has not only proven their worth through years of experience, but has also proven to be respected in the profession.
 
“An attorney’s reputation is important especially in personal injury cases,” Shelly says. “Other attorneys and judges know who the lawyers are who are dedicated to their clients and willing to go to the mat for them.” 
 
Shelly, 63, has enjoyed a long and fruitful career seeking justice for wronged clients and their families. While some people work their whole lives singularly focused on the day they can retire, she believes she has too much left to accomplish, too many people to help.  
 
“I have a friend who asked me why I don’t retire,” she says. “I said it’s simple: I love what I do. I am fortunate to have clients that I care about and am willing to fight for.”
 
About Carol A. Shelly
Shelly studied political science at Gettysburg College and then earned her juris doctor from Widener University School of Law. Since being admitted to the bar, she has briefed and argued cases in the appellate courts of Pennsylvania, including Commonwealth Court, the Superior Court, and the Supreme Court. 
 
Shelly remains actively involved in law-specific professional organizations, and is always looking to share her knowledge and advance the legal profession. Currently she is a member of the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Justice, and the American Association of Justice. She also lectures for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, formerly known as the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.
 
Previously she served as president of the Bucks County Bar Association; she also presided over the association’s Charitable Foundation and chaired its Civil Litigation Section. 
 
Carol A. Shelly, Esq.
Shelly Law Offices LLC
70 W. Oakland Ave., Suite 208
Doylestown, PA 18901
(267) 454-7940
www.shelly-law.com
 
Photo by EA Photography 
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, May 2023.