- Don Keenan
-
For the hockey player, see Don Keenan (ice hockey).
Don C. Keenan (born 1951) is an Atlanta, Georgia-based trial lawyer and author. He is the head partner in the Keenan Law Firm, which specializes in cases involving children, including injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death.[1]
He is most noted for his lawsuits regarding the conditions of foster care in the state of Georgia, which have led to changes in state law regarding abuse in foster families. Keenan served as the national president of the American Board of Trial Advocates and from 1997-1998 as president of the Inner Circle of Advocates. Keenan has won 115 settlements of over $1 million.[2]
Keenan was featured in Time magazine on November 5, 2000, in ABA Journal in April 2007, on The O'Reilly Factor on March 15, 2005, and on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2000, where he was named among Winfrey's "People Who Have the Courage." In 2003, Emory University granted him a Career Achievement Award in the field of public policy and child advocacy.[3] In 2006, he published 365 Ways To Keep Kids Safe, a book of his advice for child safety.
Contents
Legal career
Keenan completed the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School, but accepted discharge before serving in Vietnam.[2] He attended Atlanta Law School, one of three well-known evening law schools for students with full-time employment seeking a law degree approved by the Georgia Supreme Court. Don was the youngest law school graduate in the State of Georgia at age 21, also in that same year, the youngest law graduate to speak in front of a congressional hearing. His first case started in 1976, Dr. Carl Drury against the Gilman Paper Company. Keenan and lawyer Scott Sanders settled the case in 1982, after the case received national attention from activist Ralph Nader. Sanders later that year sued Keenan, accusing him of setting up a sham corporation to shield his assets. Between 1982 and 1988, 80 lawsuits were filled against Keenan by his creditors, and he developed a drinking problem.[4] In 1983, he partnered with lawyer David Bills. Bills too later sued Keenan in 1994 for breach of contract.
Keenan initially practiced criminal law, but in 1988 took the case of Kathy Jo Taylor, who was five years old when she was beaten into a coma while in state foster care. The case when to the United States Supreme Court in 1989, who decided against the state. Since then, he has taken on child safety issues related to birth defects, playground construction, air bag function, gun trigger lock programs, and day care related injuries.[3] In 2000, he was brought to national attention with the case of Tarrell Peterson, who died in foster care despite warnings to the Department of Family and Children Services. On appeal, the case was decided against the state on April 4, 2002, after it resulted in new legislation regarding the care of foster children in 2000.[5]
In 1994, Keenan and his wife Therese divorced, and Keenan has no children.[4] His penchant for new Mercedes-Benz cars has led him to be featured in Mercedes Magazine.[3] He also has a taste for Cuban cigars and tailored size 50 suits.[4]
Cases
While Keenan said in 2007 that "1986 was the last year the firm closed a file without a recovery,"[2] his record has included both ups and downs. His firm has lost cases in that time, such as one in 1999 involving Cobb County pediatricians.[4]
In 1993, he founded the Keenan’s Kids Foundation, a charity for at-risk children in Georgia for which Keenan performs pro bono work. They launched the Keenan's Kids Law Center in 2001. In his cases, he is known for both court room spectical and for eccentricity in his case preparation, including overnight home visits.[6]
Notable successes
- Kathy Jo Taylor (1989)
- Terrell Peterson (2002)
Bibliography
- Keenan, Don. 365 Ways To Keep Kids Safe. Balloon Press. 2006 ISBN 0977442535
References
- ^ "Track record." Keenan Law Firm 5 June 2007.
- ^ a b c Filisko, G.M. (April 2007). "The Secrets of Million-Dollar Solos". ABA Journal (American Bar Association). http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/the_secrets_of_million_dollar_solos. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c "Mercedes Magazine". Keenan Law Firm. April 12, 2005. http://www.keenanlawfirm.com/newsmercedes.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c d Torpy, Bill (December 29, 1999). "Gambler's confidence fuels lawyer's fight with DFACS". Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution. http://www.gahsc.org/terrell/keenan1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ Background: According to Don's mother, Alice Beals, Don's parents were briefly married as Don's father, a physician, died of "walking pneumonia." Alice mother worked hard as an RN in which she helped open several new clinics and hospitals primarily in the state of Georgia. As his mother practiced nursing, Don was primarily raised by his maternal grandmother. Wherever the family moved, the grandmother always moved with them. Don was usually showed much concern for others, for the "underdog." On one occasion, he brought home a boy from school to his grandmother and asked her to hem his pants as they were dragging the ground. Another neat early detail of Don's life: while in college, Don supported himself by starting a business along with two other friends producing, marketing and selling dog food; According to colleagues, although Don tried many types of cases including criminal and civil, he seemed to have more passion towards the cases involving children being neglected, abused or wrongful death of mothers and/or children. He also showed great concern with regards to "botched up" abortion cases involving teen mothers under the age of 18. For some time, his mother was his law firm's office manager, interviewed potential medical malpractice case clients, assisted in helping review/manage their cases throughout discovery and trial, reviewed other medical records pertaining to case load. Many of Don's newspaper and magazine articles were cut out, framed and displayed on the office walls. Don often spoke about former cases, interesting particulars of the discovery/trial including the Walraven Case, a horrifying murder case. But again, he seemed to get the most joy from winning the cases involving children getting the kind of publicity they needed to be placed into loving and caring homes than continue to continue to face neglectful/abusive situations or recovering from medical malpractice incidents. One one occasion, the law firm celebrated the winning of a medical malpractice case by visiting the home of the client's family in College Park, GA. The firm worked so closely with the family for quite a few years and wanted the ensure the primary victim in the case, a little girl who was severely brain damaged due to her neglectful doctor putting off her birth delivery. If the mother's pregnancy was properly monitored and treated with an early C-section delivery, any delivery complication could have been avoided and the child could have been delivered free of medical problems. With a large court-ordered award, the family was able to buy a more suitable home and care for the child in the private family home with the assistance of licensed medics and have the means to properly pay the enormous medical bills due to medical neglect. These type of cases should be considered when politicians and citizens consider both sides of tort and tort reform laws. Visser, Steve and Jill Young Miller (April 6, 2002). "State may be liable for kids it places with kin". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. http://www.gahsc.org/terrell/remand1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ "Be Specific About Your Client and His Injuries". South Carolina Trial Law Blog. July 3, 2006. http://www.sctriallaw.com/themes-arguments-be-specific-about-your-client-and-his-injuries.html. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
External links
Categories:- 1953 births
- Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
- People from Atlanta, Georgia
- Living people
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