Jennifer L. Keller

Revered for her versatility and ease in front of a jury, Keller continues to be a go-to trial attorney for difficult cases, including a legal malpractice lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court that's set for trial in August 2020.

She's on the plaintiff's side this time, representing CashCall, Inc., as it seeks redress from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and partner Claudia Callaway for what Keller describes as the destruction of an $870 million consumer lending program

According to the lawsuit, CashCall built the program based on advice from Callaway that Native American laws instead of federal and state laws would govern the loans on reservations. She was wrong, and CashCall was sued by 34 states and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Keller said horrified jurors will see the case "goes far beyond mere negligence."

Keller and partner Reuben C. Cahn are up against Munger Tolles & Olson LLP senior partner Brad D. Brian. CashCall, Inc., et al., v. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, 2017-00914968 (O.C. Super. Ct., filed April 14, 2017).

Meanwhile, she's got a piece of the sprawling Varsity Blues college cheating scandal in her representation of Joey Chen, whom she said was unfairly charged over payments to organizer Rick Singer when he simply thought he was hiring a college counselor for his son.

Chen "was so let down by Mr. Singer's lack of attention that he later hired a different college counselor. And his son wasn't admitted to a single prestigious school," Keller said. United States v. Sidoo et al., 19CR-10080 (D. Mass., filed March 5, 2019). Keller also is defending actor Kevin Spacey in a lawsuit from a massage therapist who alleges Spacey groped him during a massage in 2016. He filed anonymously, but Keller recently obtained it through a stipulated protective order after U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew granted the plaintiff's motion to proceed anonymously. Doe v. Fowler, 19CV-00750 (C.D. Cal., filed Jan. 31, 2019).

Keller said Spacey "hotly" denies the allegations and "wants his day in court."

"I believe him and intend to see him acquitted," she said. Keller also enjoyed another post-trial victory in last year's successful defense of the City of Costa Mesa's regulations on sober-living homes when U.S. District Judge James V. Selna denied the plaintiffs' equitable claims and ruled the city can enforce the regulations during the appeal. Yellowstone Womens First Step House Inc et al. v. City of Costa Mesa, CV14-01852 (C.D. Cal., filed Nov. 20, 2014).

Keller said she's "never enjoyed practicing law as much as I do with the lawyers in our firm now. They're brilliant, creative, have great judgment and are a helluva a lot of fun to be around." "Switching from pure criminal defense to the high-stakes commercial and white collar practice we now have gave me a new lease on life, and being surrounded by the group we have now has made it even better," she added. "Practicing with my best friend, our managing partner Kay Anderle, is the icing on the cake."

-- Meghann M. Cuniff