Mr. Keats' career has focused on both the business and the legal protection of brands from consumer products to political candidates, from designer goods to the Internet. Since he commenced practice, Mr. Keats has provided counsel and has litigated cases on behalf of many of the world's largest consumer product and entertainment companies, as well as individual entrepreneurs, actors, and musicians.

Prior to and during his studies at Brown University, Mr. Keats actively participated in U.S. electoral politics, running congressional campaigns, serving as a delegate to a national political convention, and interning in the U.S. House of Representatives. While a senior at Brown, Mr. Keats managed a U.S. Senate campaign. Through his political efforts, Mr. Keats developed advertising, public relations, and branding strategies for various politicians and political campaigns.

Upon completion of his Master of Arts degree at Brown University, which focused on the politics of multi-national corporations and the behavior of political organizations, Mr. Keats put his knowledge to practice with his work for The Coca-Cola Company in Mexico City. Thereafter, Mr. Keats joined the multinational food and beverage conglomerate Heublein, Inc., where he furthered his experience in consumer-product marketing, advertising, and brand management, becoming a brand manager for Inglenook Wines of Napa, California.

Returning to graduate school in the early 1980's, Mr. Keats studied intellectual property law at the University of San Francisco under the well-known expert J. Thomas McCarthy. Upon graduation, Mr. Keats was associated with the firms of Hawkins, Bikoff & Newton, and Pettit & Martin in San Francisco where he was actively engaged in the enforcement of intellectual property rights through litigation, as well as representation of clients before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In 1990, Mr. Keats joined the Los Angeles office of Baker & Hostetler where he became the National Intellectual Property Team Leader for the firm's eight offices.

In the summer of 1999, Mr. Keats along with Larry W. McFarland and Dennis L. Wilson, who were intellectual property law partners at the Baker & Hostetler firm, launched Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP in Beverly Hills, California. The firm focuses on intellectual property causes with extensive involvement in the development, protection, and enforcement of famous brands as they relate to consumer products, entertainment, and the Internet.

Mr. Keats' practice also includes the mediation of litigated and non-litigated disputes, particularly in the area of intellectual property and commercial matters. His mediation training was undertaken at the highly-regarded Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law. Mr. Keats serves on the Attorney-Settlement Panel for the Federal District Court for The Central District of California and as a mediator for The International Trademark Association Panel of Neutral Evaluators.

Mr. Keats speaks and writes on a wide variety of intellectual property protection issues. He has authored legislation in California that increased the criminal penalties for counterfeiting in the state. In addition, he has appeared in numerous publications including Forbes, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, and the National Law Journal, as well as many television broadcasts focusing on intellectual property issues. Mr. Keats has recently co-authored the book Trademark Counterfeiting, published by Aspen Law and Business.

Rated: AV