Scott A.
Keller

The New York Times recognized Scott A. Keller as a “prominent lawyer,” 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, 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

• Texas Law Review Association, Board of Directors

• American Law Institute, Member

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

• Texas Law Alumni Association, Outstanding Young Alumnus, 2016

• 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 Wisconsin

Federal and State Regulatory

• Successfully represented 26 business associations in obtaining emergency stay from the U.S. Supreme Court of unprecedented, economy-wide Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard. Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Dep’t of Labor, OSHA, 142 S. Ct. 661 (2022) (per curiam).

• Successfully defended grazing permits against Clean Water Act challenge. Cent. Sierra Envtl. Res. Ctr. v. Stanislaus Nat’l Forest, 30 F.4th 929 (9th Cir. 2022).

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

• Successfully co-led 29-State coalition in obtaining historic stay from the U.S. Supreme Court of EPA’s 2015 Clean Power Plan before circuit court judgment. West Virginia & Texas et al. v. EPA, 577 U.S. 1126 (2016).

• Successfully obtained stay of EPA regional haze rule implicating $2 billion in costs. Texas v. EPA, 829 F.3d 405 (5th Cir. 2016).

• Successfully persuaded Texas Supreme Court to unanimously overrule seven different courts of appeals in holding that a deadline for challenging an agency decision was not jurisdictional. Tex. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Chicas, 593 S.W.3d 284 (Tex. 2019).

Technology

• Successfully obtained U.S. Supreme Court emergency relief, under the First Amendment, blocking state law infringing social media websites’ editorial discretion. NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton, 142 S. Ct. 1715 (2022).

• Successfully argued for limiting strict products liability for online 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 on behalf of car and technology manufacturers in major copyright case. Alliance of Artists & Recording Companies, Inc. v. Denso Int’l Am., Inc., 947 F.3d 849 (D.C. Cir. 2020).

Redistricting and Elections

• Successfully represented a Texas Supreme Court Justice in defeating an emergency mandamus petition about ballot access. In re Walker, 2024 WL 124291 (Tex. Jan. 11, 2024) (per curiam).

• Successfully defended state redistricting plans against constitutional and Voting Rights Act challenges. Abbott v. Perez, 138 S. Ct. 2305 (2018).

• Successfully defended state redistricting plan against one-person, one-vote challenge. Evenwel v. Abbott, 578 U.S. 54 (2016).

• Successfully obtained and defended emergency appellate stay of injunction blocking election laws. Democratic Nat’l Comm. v. Wis. State Legislature, 141 S. Ct. 28 (2020); Democratic Nat’l Comm. v. Bostelmann, 977 F.3d 639 (7th Cir. 2020).

• Successfully defended campaign finance laws. King Street Patriots v. Tex. Democratic Party, 521 S.W.3d 729 (Tex. 2017).

• Successfully defended voter-ID law. Veasey v. Abbott, 888 F.3d 792 (5th Cir. 2018).

Securities and Class Actions

• Successfully obtained settlement for hedge fund after appealing fiduciary-duty class action certification order from Delaware Chancery Court. Mangrove Partners Master Fund, Ltd. v. Schechter, No. 191, 2019 (Del. June 20, 2019).

Antitrust

• Successfully retained major antitrust verdict. United States & Texas et al. v. Apple, Inc., 791 F.3d 290 (2d Cir. 2015), cert. denied, 577 U.S. 1193 (2016).

Water

• Successfully represented a State in U.S. Supreme Court original jurisdiction interstate water dispute. Texas v. New Mexico, 138 S. Ct. 954 (2018).

 Tax

• Successfully defended against tax claims implicating potentially $3 billion. Graphic Packaging Corp. v. Hegar, 538 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. 2017).

• Successfully defended state tax law. Hegar v. Tex. Small Tobacco Coal., 496 S.W.3d 778 (Tex. 2016).

Healthcare

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

Preemption

• Successfully defended state laws on immigration against preemption challenge. City of El Cenizo v. Texas, 890 F.3d 164 (5th Cir. 2018).

• Prevailed in challenging municipal ordinance as preempted by state law. City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Ass’n, 550 S.W.3d 586 (Tex. 2018).

Punitive Damages

• Successfully argued for application of exemplary damages cap. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Forte, 497 S.W.3d 460 (Tex. 2016).

Education

• Successfully defended public-school finance laws against constitutional challenges. Morath v. Tex. Taxpayer & Student Fairness Coal., 490 S.W.3d 826 (Tex. 2016).

First Amendment

• Successfully defended a state license plate program against a First Amendment challenge. Walker v. Tex. Div., Sons of Confederate Veterans, 576 U.S. 200 (2015).

Fourth Amendment

• Obtained summary reversal granting qualified immunity from trial to a police officer. Mullenix v. Luna, 577 U.S. 7 (2015) (per curiam).

Eighth Amendment and Prisoner Challenges

• Successfully defended criminal sentence in federal habeas corpus case. Davila v. Davis, 137 S. Ct. 2058 (2017).

• Successfully defended state law against Eighth Amendment challenge. Whitaker v. Collier, 862 F.3d 490 (5th Cir. 2017).

• 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