Keker & Van Nest

What Keker & Van Nest does

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP, doing business as Keker & Van Nest, is a San Francisco-headquartered litigation boutique founded in 1978 by John Keker and William Brockett. Originally a criminal defense firm, it evolved over four decades into a high-stakes civil and white-collar practice with approximately 160 lawyers, all partners of whom have substantial trial experience — many having clerked for federal judges or served as federal prosecutors and defenders. The firm is structured as a California limited liability partnership owned entirely by its partners, having repeatedly declined merger offers to preserve its independence and partner-only trial model.

The firm's revenue is generated through professional services billing on a combination of hourly rates and fixed-fee arrangements typical of elite litigation boutiques; no pricing is publicly disclosed. Client acquisition runs entirely through direct partner engagement, peer referrals, industry rankings (Chambers Band 1 across White Collar, General Commercial, and IP; Daily Journal Top Lawyers lists; Lawdragon 500), and press coverage of case outcomes. Distribution is national across U.S. federal and state courts, with all engagements sourced from a single San Francisco office at 633 Battery Street. The customer base spans Fortune 500 technology companies (Google, Netflix, OpenAI, Lyft, Arista, Electronic Arts, T-Mobile, Taiwan Semiconductor), biotechnology (Genentech), media (Comcast), real estate (Public Storage), and healthcare (Sutter Health), with case mix dominated by IP, antitrust, securities, class action defense, and white-collar criminal matters.

KVP's practice areas include Intellectual Property (with sub-practices in patent, copyright/trademark, and trade secret), Antitrust, Appellate, Consumer & Class Actions, Contract & Commercial, Professional Liability, Securities, White Collar Criminal Defense, and Pro Bono, supported by industry-specific practices for technology, life sciences, semiconductor, mobile devices, interactive entertainment, communications & media, and finance. Notable matters include defense of Sutter Health in a seven-week bench trial, defense of Netflix against Broadcom's multi-patent campaign, leadership in the OpenAI Copyright MDL, and Google's Android/Java fair use victory against Oracle. The firm is the American Lawyer's first-ever Litigation Boutique of the Year (2005) and has held Chambers Band 1 rankings across multiple California litigation categories for years.

Name

Keker & Van Nest

Legal name

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP

Website

https://keker.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP is a San Francisco-based litigation boutique founded in 1978 that represents Fortune 500 technology, healthcare, and telecom companies in high-stakes intellectual property, antitrust, securities, and white-collar criminal matters through a 160-lawyer, partner-led trial practice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trial Litigation Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Management Liability (D&O/EPL/Fiduciary) (FSAJAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional Umbrella / Excess (E&O/D&O Wrap) (FSAJANAH)

Keywords

• Complex civil litigation
• Intellectual property litigation
• White collar criminal defense
• Class action defense
• Appellate litigation services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Billing: The firm generates revenue by providing legal representation services to corporate clients, executives, and individuals on high-stakes litigation matters. Billing is likely performed on a combination of hourly rates and fixed-fee arrangements typical of elite litigation boutiques, though specific rates are not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP is a litigation boutique that delivers high-stakes civil and criminal trial representation across intellectual property, white collar defense, antitrust, securities, appellate, consumer/class action, professional liability, and contract matters. The firm serves enterprise clients — primarily Fortune 500 technology and life sciences companies, plus senior executives — on bet-the-company cases, with practice-area specialists and industry-practices spanning technology, life sciences, semiconductor, interactive entertainment, mobile, communications/media, and finance.

Product overview

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP is a litigation boutique law firm providing high-stakes legal services across multiple practice areas. The firm operates as a unified legal services offering with core practice areas including Intellectual Property (with sub-practices in Patent, Copyright & Trademark, and Trade Secret), Antitrust, Appellate, Consumer & Class Actions, Contract & Commercial, Professional Liability, Securities, White Collar Criminal, and Pro Bono. The firm specializes in serving technology, life sciences, semiconductor, mobile devices, interactive entertainment, communications & media, and finance industries, with particular strength in IP litigation for Silicon Valley companies including Google, Arista Networks, Electronic Arts, Lyft, and T-Mobile.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Intellectual Property Litigation Full-service intellectual property litigation services covering patent infringement, copyright, trademark, and trade secret disputes for technology, life sciences, semiconductor, and media clients.
• Patent Litigation Patent infringement litigation and defense services, including notable representations such as Arista Networks v. Cisco and the Instacart four-patent invalidation affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
• Copyright and Trademark Litigation Copyright and trademark infringement litigation services, including the landmark fair use jury verdict for Google in the Android/Java copyright dispute against Oracle and representation of Electronic Arts in Madden NFL copyright litigation.
• Trade Secret Litigation Trade secret misappropriation claims and defense; partner Rachael Meny has been honored multiple times for her work in trade secret and employee mobility law.
• White Collar Criminal Defense Criminal defense for executives and corporations in government investigations including FCPA, securities fraud, public corruption, and DOJ matters; partners are ranked Band 1 by Chambers and recipients of the NACDL White Collar Criminal Defense Award.
• Antitrust Litigation Legal services for antitrust litigation and regulatory matters, including antitrust class actions for major corporations.
• Appellate Litigation Appellate court representation and brief writing services, supporting trial matters through to verdict appeals and Federal Circuit review.
• Consumer and Class Action Defense Class action defense and consumer protection litigation services, including RICO, antitrust, false advertising, and unfair business practices class actions.
• Contract and Commercial Litigation Commercial dispute resolution and contract litigation services for enterprise clients.
• Professional Liability Defense Defense of law firms and accounting firms in professional liability claims.
• Securities Litigation Securities litigation, SEC enforcement defense, and investor disputes, including representation of senior executives such as the former Enron CFO.
• Pro Bono Legal Services Volunteer legal services for underserved communities including asylum, veterans, and wrongful conviction cases, in partnership with organizations such as the ACLU of Northern California, Swords to Plowshares, and Centro Legal de la Raza.

Quantifiable outcome

• Complete defense verdict in a seven-week bench trial for Sutter Health against a $500M+ qui tam insurance fraud action.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACLU of Northern CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKeker attorneys including Erin Meyer and Christina Lee have worked alongside the ACLU of Northern California on pro bono class action litigation challenging immigration enforcement practices, including filing habeas petitions for unlawfully detained asylum seekers and filing class actions challenging ICE detention practices.
• Swords to PlowsharescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe firm has a long-standing relationship with Swords to Plowshares, a veterans legal services organization. Associates including Chessie Thacher have volunteered with the organization representing veterans in benefits claims, achieving 100% disability compensation ratings for veteran clients.
• Centro Legal de la RazaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner Erin Meyer joined attorneys from Centro Legal de la Raza alongside the ACLU of Northern California in filing a class action challenging unlawful immigration enforcement practices.
• JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services)minorOthersThe firm utilized JAMS for arbitration proceedings, including representing Google in the Anthony Levandowski arbitration. JAMS provides dispute resolution services including arbitration and mediation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Susman Godfrey LLP: Houston-founded, nationally recognized trial boutique widely regarded as the closest comparable to Keker & Van Nest — similarly partner-only trial practice, comparable elite client roster, and a parallel Chambers Band 1 reputation in high-stakes commercial and IP litigation.
• Bartlit Beck LLP: Chicago-based elite trial boutique of similar size and stature, focused on bet-the-company commercial, IP, and appellate litigation for Fortune 500 clients. Closely matches Keker's model of refusing to settle and winning at trial.
• Boies Schiller Flexner LLP: National litigation-focused firm headquartered in New York with offices across major U.S. markets; competes head-to-head with Keker on big-tech IP and white-collar engagements, though at a larger, more distributed scale.
• Williams & Connolly LLP: Washington, D.C.-based elite litigation boutique renowned for Supreme Court practice and high-stakes commercial and white-collar defense — comparable in refusing non-trial work and maintaining a deep, partner-led bench.
• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP: Largest litigation-only firm in the world, frequently opposing Keker on major IP and commercial matters (e.g., Oracle v. Google) and competing for the same enterprise client base in tech-heavy disputes.
• Irell & Manella LLP: Los Angeles elite litigation and IP boutique with overlapping California talent market and a parallel focus on high-stakes patent and commercial matters for technology and life-sciences clients.
• Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP: California-headquartered litigation and transactional elite firm with comparable Chambers Band 1 rankings in commercial litigation and a similar partner-only, trial-first culture.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP: San Francisco-based elite litigation boutique that, while primarily plaintiffs'-side, competes with Keker for the same senior trial talent and adjacent complex-litigation market relevance in Northern California.

Broad incumbents

• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP: Large global full-service firm whose litigation practice frequently handles the same Fortune 500 IP, antitrust, and white-collar engagements as Keker, offering clients a broader service portfolio as an alternative to boutique representation.
• Kirkland & Ellis LLP: Large global firm with one of the deepest commercial and IP litigation practices in the U.S., competing for the same tech and life-sciences clients on bet-the-company disputes though with a much broader service offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kekervannestpeters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keker-van-nest-&-peters-llp
• Xx.com/KekerLLP

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Keker & Van Nest