CONTACTMr. Keller is the head of the firm’s Litigation and Insolvency practice groups. His areas of expertise include real estate and environmental litigation, land use entitlements proceedings, and creditor representation in bankruptcy cases.
One of Mr. Keller’s greatest strengths is a broad base of experience in litigation and transactional real estate matters. As a litigator, he has defended housing and hotel projects against challenges under the California Environmental Quality Act; represented Fortune 500 companies in eminent domain proceedings; prosecuted commercial landlord-tenant and loan default cases; and resolved disputes involving takings claims, boundary issues, easements, mechanic’s liens, and water rights. His litigation experience also informs his approach to other matters such as representation of developers seeking entitlements, buyers and lenders conducting due diligence, and property owners impacted by development on neighboring parcels. In all these settings Mr. Keller applies a practical approach that starts with a strong appreciation for his clients’ priorities and an understanding of his role as both advocate and advisor.
Mr. Keller has also built a nationwide practice representing landlords and other creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. He has represented everything from large institutional investors to small businesses in cases venued from San Diego to Connecticut. Mr. Keller’s experience includes large, complex cases such as Sanchez Energy, in which Mr. Keller represented the owner of the debtor’s corporate headquarters, and Sears, in which he represented three different landlords with nine separate properties. Mr. Keller has also served as court-approved attorney for receivers, referees, and bankruptcy trustees, helping them analyze claims, resolve disputes, and win authorization to sell distressed assets.
Mr. Keller is actively involved in the legal community. He has served as the Chair of the San Francisco Bar Association’s Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section; the President of the California Receivers Forum’s Bay Area Chapter; an officer of the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum; and Co-Chair of the California Bankruptcy Forum’s 2022 Conference. He has been named a Super Lawyer for Northern California by Super Lawyers magazine for 2021, 2022, and 2023, and was named by the same publication as a Rising Star for every year from 2013 through 2020. Mr. Keller speaks fluent German and has done pro bono work representing Holocaust survivors applying for benefits with the German government, as well as fundraising work for the Bay Area Urban Debate League and the Friends of Cal Debate.
EDUCATION
- Undergraduate School: University of California, Berkeley.
- Law School: University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
- While an undergraduate, Mr. Keller was the President of the UC Berkeley debate team from 2000 through 2002.
- In law school he earned awards for academic excellence in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Advanced Environmental Law, Negotiation & Mediation, and Legal Writing & Research.
- He also won the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition in New York, and was a regional winner and national semi-finalist at the National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Chicago.
- He joined the firm in September 2016, after starting his career at Ellman Burke Hoffman & Johnson and spending six-and-a-half years at Buchalter in San Francisco.
PRACTICE AREAS:
Land Use, Litigation, and Insolvency
REPRESENTATIVE LITIGATION ENGAGEMENTS:
- Lead counsel for the California State University in litigation initiated by a host city under the California Environmental Quality Act to challenge the University’s approval of a new master plan for one of its campuses, winning a judgment that denied the challenge in its entirety.
- Represented a group of real estate investors seeking relief from a city’s downzoning of their properties, winning an injunction to stop the zoning change based on evidence of illegal involvement by the City’s mayor obtained by Mr. Keller through a Public Records Act request.
- Defended a commercial landlord against a bankrupt tenant’s attempt to retroactively reject its lease, leading to payment of several hundred thousand dollars in administrative rent and an order confirming the landlord’s right to take possession and dispose of all remaining personal property without risk of liability.
- Served as court-approved counsel for a receiver over a hotel property, winning approval for the sale of the property despite repeated objections from a third party, and dismissal of a federal court lawsuit against the receiver and issuance of a state court order denying authorization to sue the receiver.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Conference Co-Chair, 2022, and Education Co-Chair, 2020-2021, California Bankruptcy Forum Conference.
- Board Member, Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, 2018-present.
- Chair, San Francisco Bar Association Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section, 2017.
- President, California Receivers Forum Bay Area Chapter, 2015 and 2016.
- Board Member, Friends of Cal Debate.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Co-Presenter, “Bankruptcy Issue Spotting in the Age of COVID-19,” San Francisco Bar Association, August 2020.
- Co-Presenter, “Beyond Assumption and Rejection: Advanced Issues in Landlord-Tenant Bankruptcies,” Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, June 2020.
- Moderator, “The Ethics of the Exploding Case,” Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, February 2020.
- Co-Producer, “California Bankruptcy Forum Judges’ Roundtable”; CBF Annual Conference, May 2018.
- Co-Presenter, “How To Deal With The Debtor From Hell”; San Francisco Bar Association, May 2016.
- Moderator, “2016 Receivership Forecast”; California Receivers Forum Bay Area & Sacramento Chapters, January 2016.
- Moderator, “Bankruptcy Court Authority After Wellness International”; San Francisco Bar Association, September 2015.
- Moderator, “Economic Forecast 2015: Outlooks & Indicators”; California Receivers Forum Bay Area & Sacramento Chapters, April 2015.
- Moderator, “The Current State of the Receiver Market and Predictions by the Experts”; California Receivers Forum Los Angeles Chapter, July 2014.
- Moderator, “Bankruptcy Crimes”; San Francisco Bar Association, June 2013.