Christopher J. Keller

Overview

Christopher J. Keller is Chairman of Labaton Sucharow LLP and head of the Firm’s Executive Committee.  He is based in the Firm’s New York office.  Chris focuses on complex securities litigation cases and works with institutional investor clients, including some of the world's largest public and private pension funds with tens of billions of dollars under management.

Chris’s distinction in the plaintiffs’ bar has earned him recognition from Lawdragon as an “Elite Lawyer in the Legal Profession” and “Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer” and Chambers & Partners USA as a “Noted Practitioner,” as well as recommendations from The Legal 500 for excellence in the field of securities litigation.

Described by The Legal 500 as a “sharp and tenacious advocate” who “has his pulse on the trends,” Chris has been instrumental in the Firm’s appointments as lead counsel in some of the largest securities matters arising out of the financial crisis, such as actions against Countrywide ($624 million settlement), Bear Stearns ($275 million settlement with Bear Stearns Companies and $19.9 million settlement with Deloitte & Touche LLP, Bear Stearns’ outside auditor), and Goldman Sachs.

Chris has been integral in the prosecution of traditional fraud cases such as In re Schering-Plough Corporation/ENHANCE Securities Litigation; In re Massey Energy Co. Securities Litigation, where the Firm obtained a $265 million all-cash settlement with Alpha Natural Resources, Massey’s parent company; as well as In re Satyam Computer Services, Ltd. Securities Litigation, where the Firm obtained a settlement of more than $150 million.  Chris was also a principal litigator on the trial team of In re Real Estate Associates Limited Partnership Litigation.  The six-week jury trial resulted in a $185 million plaintiffs’ verdict, one of the largest jury verdicts since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

In addition to his active caseload, Chris holds a variety of leadership positions within the Firm, including serving on the Firm’s Executive Committee.  In response to the evolving needs of clients, Chris also established, and currently leads, the Case Development Group, which is composed of attorneys, in-house investigators, financial analysts, and forensic accountants.  The group is responsible for evaluating clients’ financial losses and analyzing their potential legal claims both in and outside of the U.S. and tracking trends that are of potential concern to investors.

Educating institutional investors is a significant element of Chris’s advocacy efforts for shareholder rights.  He is regularly called upon for presentations on developing trends in the law and new case theories at annual meetings and seminars for institutional investors.

Chris is a member of several professional groups, including the New York State Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers’ Association. He is a prior member of the Board of Directors of the City Bar Fund, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) arm of the New York City Bar Association aimed at engaging and supporting the legal profession in advancing social justice.