ATTORNEY

Robert L. Keepnews

Robert L. Keepnews practices in the areas of commercial litigation and resolution of all types of business disputes, as well as litigation and counseling of clients in the areas of employment and labor law. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University with a major in Accounting. He earned his law degree from the Fordham University School of Law where he was a published member of the Fordham Urban Law Journal.

Following law school, Mr. Keepnews served as Law Clerk to Chief Judge Frank J. Battisti in the United States District Court in Cleveland, Ohio. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Keepnews is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Tax Court.

Between college and law school, Mr. Keepnews served as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a tour of duty as a Platoon Commander in Vietnam. He was discharged with the rank of Captain.

Mr. Keepnews is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the American Bar Association (Member: Sections on Litigation, Labor and Employment Law). He is presently serving as an Attorney Trial Referee in the Connecticut Superior Court, and has served as a Special Master in the U.S. District Court. Mr. Keepnews lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Representative Experience

• Represented South Carolina corporation with annual sales in excess of $50,000,000 in federal court action seeking damages in excess of $20,000,000 for breach of contract and unfair trade practices.
• Represented international construction company in defending federal court suit by former employee alleging gender discrimination and sexual harassment.
• Represented principal in family partnership owning in excess of $100,000,000 in real estate in federal and state court suits over allocation and distribution of proceeds of winding down and sale of assets.
• Obtained $963,596 judgment for a major financial institution after trial in federal court on breach of contract claim arising out of reconstructing of corporate debt, and preserved decision below before Court of Appeals.
• Settled client’s $266,000 insurance claim for $695,000 on the eve of trial.
• Successfully brokered on behalf of a national company settlement of federal and state court actions arising out of the design and construction of a Fortune 500 Company’s world headquarters.
• Successfully defended commercial entity at trial in foreclosure of mechanic’s lien by building contractor, and preserved decision below before the Appellate Court.
• Obtained plaintiff’s verdict on all counts for medical research and development company after trial against corporate borrower, its officers and directors.
• Investigated and defended employee complaints to Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and obtained dismissals at administrative agency level.
• Successfully defended national soft drink bottler in federal court trial of “whistle blowing” and employment discrimination claims, with jury returning a defendant’s verdict.
• Advised management on Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, and NLRA issues, and defended charges brought before the NLRB.
• Successfully obtained restructuring of NYSE-traded limited partnership owning $120,000,000 in assets through prosecution of actions in Delaware and defense of actions in Texas.
• Successfully defended a Fortune 100 Company in a suit by 16 of its former franchisees seeking $35,000,000 in damages. Assembled and supervised a team of attorneys, CPA’s and Ph.D. economists. A federal court jury rendered a defendant’s verdict as to 15 of the plaintiffs, and awarded only nominal damages as to the last.
• Favorably negotiated on behalf of a Fortune 500 Company with a Real Estate Investment Trust resolution after trial of a suit arising out of construction of a $7 million warehouse.
• Obtained judgment of strict foreclosure on several-hundred unit condominium complex for national lender and preserved decision below before the Appellate Court.
• Obtained six-figure verdict on behalf of region corporation after two-week trial in federal court suit alleging breach of contract and unfair trade practices.
• Successfully defended federal bank at trial of lender liability suit arising out of commercial loan agreement.
• Negotiated personally and directly with Assistant Attorney General of the United States in Washington, D.C. and resolved favorably high profile civil rights suit brought by United States Department of Justice.
• Prevailed in one of the seminal cases establishing the liability of corporate officers for willful copyright infringement. The client had the court’s opinion reproduced as its own expense and distributed to its local counsel throughout the United States.
• Successfully represented accounting firm in trial to enforce restrictive employment covenant.
• Represented management in trial of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB.
• Planned and implemented management campaign to defeat unionization effort culminating in NLRBV supervised election.
• Negotiated on behalf of management collective bargaining agreements with the Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO.




Contact Robert L. Keepnews via email.



Back to Attorneys