John W. Keker

White-collar criminal defense, business, intellectual property and antitrust litigation

It's been a rough year for white-collar criminal defendants. Since the economy tanked, people are quick to lay blame with corporate executives. But Keker has been able to mitigate the damage for some clients. Keker represented former KB Home chief executive Bruce Karatz in a stock options backdating case. A Los Angeles jury acquitted Karatz on 16 of 20 charges in April. Sentencing is set for November. Perhaps the biggest win Keker had in the past year came on behalf of General Vang Pao, the leader of the Hmong community in America. In September 2009, Keker persuaded federal prosecutors to drop all charges against Pao, who had been accused of conspiring to overthrow the government of Laos.