John E. Keefe, Jr.

Call New Jersey personal injury lawyer John Keefe, Jr. for a free consultation today.
John E. Keefe, Jr.
Managing Partner

nj supreme court certified attorney

Managing Partner

jkeefe@keefe-lawfirm.com

+1 732 224-9400, ext.202

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Key Practice Areas

  • Personal Injury
  • Mass Tort Litigation
  • Complex Litigation
  • Consumer Fraud
  • Class Actions


Primary Focus & Experience

John is the former president of the New Jersey State Bar Association.  As president, his significant achievements included building diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, launching a mentoring program for new lawyers and leveling the malpractice playing field.

A Certified Civil Trial Attorney, he has devoted much of his time to civil trial practice throughout the State and Federal Courts of New Jersey specializing in negligence and product liability as well as complex mass tort and class action litigation. He founded Keefe Law Firm in 1996 and leads our plaintiffs’ personal injury, mass tort litigation and complex litigation department. John has tried numerous matters to verdict and prosecuted hundreds of cases on behalf of victims of catastrophic loss.


Significant Representations

  • Appointed by the Superior Court as plaintiffs liaison counsel in an historic consumer fraud national class action, Talalai v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (Docket No.: MID-L-8830-00-MT ) the settlement of which is valued at between $1,000,000,000and $3,000,000,000 to consumers.
  • Lead counsel on behalf of plaintiffs in one of the largest pollution cases in New Jersey, Janes v. Ciba Geigy Corporation (Docket No.: MID-L- 1669-01-MT).
  • Served as local counsel in the securities class action litigation, In Re Sears, Roebuck & Co. Securities Litigation (Docket No. 02-C-07527) which resulted in a $215,000,000 cash settlement.
  • Resolved a complex wrongful death case on behalf of a young widow and small children against New Jersey Transit Corporation for Wrongful Death Caused by Electrocution and Severe Burns for $10,000,000.00
  • Served as liaison counsel in In Re Royal Dutch/Shell Transport Securities Litigation – (Civil Action No.: 04-374 (JWB)) before Judge Joel Pisano and the Hormone Replacement Therapy Litigation (Docket No.: ATL-2093-04 MT) before Judge Carol E. Higbee.
  • Served as co-counsel in a national consumer fraud class settlement in Chicago, Illinois on behalf of thousands of consumers nationwide.
  • Co-counsel in $30 million false advertising class action lawsuit Imran Chaudhri v. Osram Sylvania Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
  • Additional matters include: motor vehicle wrongful death, product liability, premises liability, burn injuries, worksite OSHA violations, hospital negligence wrongful death and long term care negligence involving burns and wrongful death.


Publications

NJSBA, Presidents Perspective

Author: Chapter 11, “Attorney’s Fees in Class Actions” in 2020 New Jersey Mass Torts & Class Actions Treatise


Commitment to Professionalism Critical for All Attorneys

New Jersey Lawyer No. 315/December 2018

Tree of Life Synagogue, Words Matter

New Jersey State Bar Association President’s Message/October 2018


NJSBA Mentor Match Needs You

New Jersey Lawyer No. 314/October 2018


Doing Good Together, for the NJSBA and Profession

New Jersey Lawyer No. 313/August 2018

 

Leading Lawyers Forward, Together

New Jersey Lawyer No. 312/June 2018

 

Appointments & Recognition

New Jersey State Bar Association

  • Immediate Past President, May 2019
  • President, May 2018
  • Treasurer, Secretary 2013

Civil Trial Section Exec. Committee, 1998-Present

Civil Trial Section Chair, 2010-2012

New Jersey State Bar Foundation

  • Trustee

Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, 1999 – 2010

  • Past President 2007

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy

  • Transition Team Member
  • Governor’s Advisory Committee Executive Order

 

Memberships

Fellows of the American Bar Foundation New Jersey Chapter

New Jersey State Bar Association

Monmouth County Bar Association

Middlesex County Bar Association

American Association for Justice

Million Dollar Advocates Forum

 

Education

Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, New Jersey J.D., 1990

Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania B.A., English Literature, 1987

 

Admissions

New Jersey, 1990

U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 1990

District of Columbia, 2005

U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida, 2005

 

Certification / Specialties

  • Certified Civil Trial Attorney, New Jersey Supreme Court, 2004
  • Certified Civil Trial Recertification 2010

 

Clerkships

Hon. Kenneth C. MacKenzie J.S.C., Law Clerk, 1990 – 1991

 

Past Employment

  • Lynch Martin, Co-Managing Partner, 1996-2006
  • Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer, Associate, 1991 – 1996

Speaking Engagements

  • NJSBA Annual Meeting May 2020: “New Knowledge for the New Normal: Civil Litigation in the Pandemic”
  • “A Trial Lawyer’s Perspective – Opioids, tobacco, Vaping, Critical Thinking, Life in the Law” – Gettysburg College, PA, February 2019 and St. Peter’s University, Jersey City, NJ, October 2019
  • Opioid Discussion/Kolodny for October, 2018
  • Mentoring at NJ Judicial College, November 2018
  • Opioid Panel at NJSBA Annual Meeting
  • NJSBA Annual Meeting May 2014: Everything You Need to Know About Successfully Managing Track I & Track II Cases Under the New Mandatory Expedited Handling Program – Civil Trial Bench Bar Conference
  • Speaker: Civil Litigation a La Italiana: Rome, Italy November 2013
  • “So You Think You Want To Be A Lawyer” Presentation, CBA High School Future Business Leaders of America, October, 2013
  • Panelist: Class Action Update, NJAJ Boardwalk Seminar 2013, April 18, 2013
  • Moderator: NJSBA Best Practices Civil Trial Bench-Bar Conference, May 18, 2012
  • Panelist: Class Action Update, NJAJ Boardwalk Seminar 2012, April 25, 2012
  • “So You Think You Want To Be A Lawyer” Presentation, New Egypt High School Business Law Class, May 23, 2011
  • Panelist: “Solo Firm Marketing Panel” Seminar: Water Club at the Borgata Hotel Atlantic City, NJ, Solo Firm Marketing Panel, May 18, 2011 – Present
  • “Successfully Working with a Special Master for Maximum Results” Webinar: May 3, 2011, May 3, 2011
  • Experts by Experts/Class Action Symposium/Hot Topic Seminars, CLE/NJSB, 1998 – 2005
  • Environmental Meetings, (Chicago, Illinois), 2005, Panelist
  • Natural Resource Damage Cases (Houston, Texas), Panelist