Ryan M. Keats

Ryan Keats is a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement and White-Collar Defense Group. He represents public companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, derivative suits, and other high-stakes litigation. He has litigated at the trial and appellate court levels, as well as in arbitration proceedings under the AAA, FINRA, and JAMS rules. Mr. Keats also has experience advising clients in connection with multinational internal investigations.

Mr. Keats has represented clients across a range of industries including technology, social gaming, communications, and financial services. His experience includes defending claims arising under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, the California Corporations Code, and the Delaware General Corporations Law. Mr. Keats has briefed issues of first impression under California law, the bankruptcy code, and federal securities laws.

Mr. Keats is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as a senior editor for the American Review of International Arbitration. Mr. Keats earned his B.A. in Literature at the University of California, San Diego. He is admitted to practice in California and New York.

Representative Matters (Includes Prior Law Firm Experience)

• LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. and certain of its directors and officers in connection with a securities class action pending in the Northern District of California.


• Zynga Inc. and certain of its directors and officers in connection with a derivative shareholder action pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery.


• The successful defense of Yelp Inc. and certain of its officers in connection with a securities class action.


• Member of trial team that successfully defended a leading financial institution in a two-week AAA hearing arising from the sale of positions in privately-held and publicly-traded companies.


• Represented foreign and domestic financial institutions in litigation related to the Madoff Ponzi scheme.


• Represented financial institution in connection with claims for breach of representations and warranties in connection with the issuance and securitization of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities.


• Advised a U.S.-based public corporation in an internal investigation concerning alleged violations of the FCPA and other anti-bribery statutes in countries throughout Europe and the Middle East. Following the conclusion of the investigation, the SEC and DOJ took no action against the client.