Scott A.
Keller

The New York Times recognized Scott A. Keller as a “legal heavyweight,” who “is praised by opponents as a formidable advocate.”

Mr. Keller has argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and 12 cases before the Texas Supreme Court. He is the only practicing lawyer to have argued at least 10 cases in both courts. Mr. Keller frequently represents parties in high stakes appeals, and he has argued many cases in federal courts of appeals throughout the nation. He has earned individual accolades from Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Chambers, Legal 500, The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, Law360, Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and other publications.

Before founding Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Mr. Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He also has significant experience at the highest levels in all three branches of government. Mr. Keller served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator. He was U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mr. Keller was a law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was also a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Solicitor General.

Mr. Keller represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is crucial, and he has made numerous media appearances in major outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Fox News, NPR, and Politico. As a sought after speaker and writer, Mr. Keller’s articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and Texas Law Review. He has also served as an adjunct professor of constitutional litigation, Supreme Court practice, and federal courts at the University of Texas School of Law.

• Supreme Court of the United States Historical Society, Board of Trustees

• American Law Institute, Member

• Texas U.S. Senators’ Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, Member

• Distinguished Alumnus, Purdue University College of Liberal Arts

• District of Columbia Bar

• Texas Bar

• Virginia Bar

• Supreme Court of the United States

• United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, District of Columbia, and Federal Circuits

• United States District Court for the District of Columbia

• United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas

• United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia

• United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin

• United States Court of Federal Claims

12 U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments | 12 Texas Supreme Court oral arguments

Regulatory & Government

• Successfully represented 26 business associations in obtaining emergency stay from the U.S. Supreme Court of OSHA standard affecting 84 million American workers. Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Dep’t of Labor, OSHA, 595 U.S. 109 (2022) (per curiam).

• Successfully co-led 29-State coalition in obtaining first-ever U.S. Supreme Court stay of a federal rule before any circuit court judgment. West Virginia & Texas et al. v. EPA, 577 U.S. 1126 (2016).

• Successfully argued U.S. Supreme Court original jurisdiction case involving multi-state water dispute over the Rio Grande. Texas v. New Mexico, 583 U.S. 407 (2018).

• Successfully represented 26-State coalition in U.S. Supreme Court challenge to federal executive action on immigration. United States v. Texas, 579 U.S. 547 (2016) (per curiam).

• Successfully argued appeal preserving longstanding cattle grazing rights on federal lands against environmental challenge. Cent. Sierra Envtl. Res. Ctr. v. Stanislaus Nat’l Forest, 30 F.4th 929 (9th Cir. 2022).

• Successfully represented a Texas Supreme Court Justice in defeating an emergency mandamus petition on ballot access. In re Walker, 683 S.W.3d 400 (Tex. 2024) (per curiam).

• Successfully obtained unanimous Texas Supreme Court victory—overruling seven intermediate appellate courts—to preserve client’s right to challenge an agency decision. Tex. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Chicas, 593 S.W.3d 284 (Tex. 2019).

Technology

• Successfully argued First Amendment challenge invalidating surcharge ban in Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax. Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. Lierman, 151 F.4th 530 (4th Cir. 2025).

• Counsel of record in landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory recognizing social media websites’ First Amendment rights to editorial discretion. NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton, 603 U.S. 707 (2024).

• Successfully argued for limiting strict products liability for e-commerce marketplaces. Amazon.com, Inc. v. McMillan, 625 S.W.3d 101 (Tex. 2021).

• Successfully argued, under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, for immunity from state common-law claims against a social media website. In re Facebook, Inc., 625 S.W.3d 80 (Tex. 2021).

• Successfully argued appeal protecting automotive and technology manufacturers from copyright liability for in-vehicle software. Alliance of Artists & Recording Companies, Inc. v. Denso Int’l Am., Inc., 947 F.3d 849 (D.C. Cir. 2020).

Business Litigation

• Successfully obtained mandamus from the new Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals to transfer venue in a major pharmaceutical case. In re AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, 2025 WL 3251532 (Tex. App.—15th Dist. Nov. 21, 2025, orig. proceeding).

• Successfully obtained settlement for hedge fund following appeal of class-action certification from Delaware Chancery Court. Mangrove Partners Master Fund, Ltd. v. Schechter, No. 191, 2019 (Del. 2019).

• Successfully defended client against $3 billion in potential tax liability. Graphic Packaging Corp. v. Hegar, 538 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. 2017).

• Successfully defeated $1 billion in counterclaims in Medicaid fraud litigation. Nazari v. State, 561 S.W.3d 495 (Tex. 2018).

• Qualified and Absolute Immunity at Common Law, 73 Stanford Law Review 1337 (2021).

• Nationwide Injunctions Will Be a Vital Check if Biden Overreaches, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 23, 2020.

• That huge opioid verdict? Watch out--the energy industry is next, Houston Chronicle, Sept. 3, 2019.

• Unique Aspects of Texas Supreme Court Practice, 82 Texas Bar Journal 502 (July 2019).

• SCOTUS Sets Stage for Next Decade’s Redistricting Fights Over Four Key Issues, Bloomberg Law, July 10, 2019.

• Federalism as a Check on Executive Authority: The Perspective of a State Solicitor General, 22 Texas Review of Law & Politics 297 (2018).

• Contributor to Tessa Dysart & Leslie Southwick, Winning on Appeal: Better Briefs and Oral Argument, 2017.

• Applying Constitutional Decision Rules Versus Invalidating Statutes In Toto, 98 Virginia Law Review 301 (2012) (co-authored with Misha Tseytlin).

• Texas Versus Chevron: Texas Administrative Law on Agency Deference After Railroad Commission v. Texas Citizens, 74 Texas Bar Journal 984 (Dec. 2011).

• Depoliticizing Judicial Review of Agency Rulemaking, 84 Washington Law Review 419 (2009).

• How Courts Can Protect State Autonomy from Federal Administrative Encroachment, 82 Southern California Law Review 45 (2008).

• Note, Judicial Jurisdiction Stripping Masquerading as Ripeness: Eliminating the Williamson County State Litigation Requirement for Regulatory Takings Claims, 85 Texas Law Review 199 (2006).

Education

J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, 2007, highest honors

• Vice Chancellor

• Articles Editor,
  Texas Law Review

• Administrative Editor, Texas Review of Law & Politics         

B.A., Political Science & Philosophy, Purdue University, 2004, highest distinction