Robert Keefe is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Investigations and Criminal Litigation Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1974. Mr. Keefe has been co-chairman of the Government Investigations and Litigation Group and a member of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation, Environmental, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Securities Litigation Groups. He has served on the Banking and Financial Law and Health Law Committees.
Practice
Mr. Keefe's complex general litigation practice includes internal corporate investigations, extensive white collar criminal defense work and general commercial litigation. Prior to joining the firm in 1974, he was an attorney in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
Mr. Keefe has advised many companies in connection with internal corporate investigations on topics ranging from violations of state and federal fraud statutes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr. Keefe has recently represented a company under federal investigation for violation of tax laws and money laundering statutes. Mr. Keefe has also represented a medical device manufacturer in connection with a six-year federal criminal investigation about the distribution of an allegedly adulterated and misbranded medical device and the theft of trade secrets; the investigation was resolved on a civil basis and neither the company nor two officers, who had been designated as targets, were indicted. He has handled wage dispute litigation for Northern Telecom, Inc., tax litigation for Daisy Systems Corp., and environmental litigation for Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Hub Folding Box Co., Inc. and Avery Dennison Corporation. Mr. Keefe has also resolved environmental disputes involving the Environmental Protection Agency and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for many companies, including Globe Manufacturing Company, Inc., and Global Petroleum Corp. Mr. Keefe has represented Hasbro, Inc. in connection with a major fraud committed upon the company by a former senior officer, and the National Hockey League and its member teams in connection with the Alan Eagleson grand jury investigation and indictment in the District of Massachusetts. Mr. Keefe has represented pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies in federal criminal investigations and parallel civil investigations about the companies' marketing practices involving certain drugs or medical devices. Mr. Keefe has also represented numerous companies and individuals in connection with state and federal investigations involving allegations of violations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud statutes, Anti-Kickback statutes, federal and state tax and environmental laws, government contracting laws, wire and mail fraud statutes and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Mr. Keefe has represented a number of individuals as well before state and federal grand juries and has represented companies and individuals charged with state and federal crimes involving violations of the federal health laws, FDA laws, federal and state banking laws, federal and state housing laws, customs law, and federal and state laws protecting intellectual property rights. Mr. Keefe represented Sears Roebuck & Co. in connection with an investigation into its federal bankruptcy court reaffirmation practices and policies. He has also represented a major Boston bank in connection with federal grand jury investigations and indictments of former bank officers and customers in the District of Massachusetts and other districts in the United States. Mr. Keefe has represented companies and individuals who have been investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a variety of issues, and also has supervised the representation of companies and individuals under parallel investigations involving the SEC and various U.S. Attorneys' offices.
Mr. Keefe has also worked on large commercial disputes and antitrust lawsuits. He has represented Citicorp Venture Capital in connection with a major commercial dispute with several consulting firms. He has handled antitrust litigation for the Southern Pacific Company, and was part of the team that won a judgment for that company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has represented officers and directors of the Capitol Bank & Trust Company in connection with litigation brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He has represented Modern Continental Construction Company in connection with a Big Dig construction contract dispute, and Wainwright Bank & Trust Company in connection with commercial disputes involving lender liability issues. He represented Intelect Communications Systems Ltd. in connection with a contract claim involving the payment of legal costs and judgments arising out of cases involving allegedly defective firearms manufactured while Intelect Communications Systems, Ltd. owned another company that manufactured firearms. Mr. Keefe represented Citicorp North America, Inc. in connection with a large breach of contract claim against another Fortune 500 company.
Mr. Keefe is admitted to practice before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts; the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits; the US District Court of the District of Massachusetts, and all state courts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
