“The power of the lawyer is in the uncertainty of the law.” – Jeremy Bentham

Jay O’Keeffe

Partner | Roanoke

Phone: (540) 491.0634
Fax: (434) 951.7271
Email: [email protected]

Team Members:

Holly McGowan: 540-524-2006

 

Practice Areas

  • Appeals
  • Civil Litigation
  • Consumer Protection Law
J

ay focuses his practice on appeals, trusts and estates, and consumer-protection litigation. He has briefed or argued dozens of cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Virginia, and the Court of Appeals in Virginia. He is the publisher of a De Novo: A Virginia Appellate Law Blog, available at www.virginiaappellatelaw.com.

 

Jay earned his undergraduate degree from the College of William & Mary and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

 

In addition to his active legal practice, Jay is a Lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law. In his spare time, Jay enjoys cycling, reading, and spending time with his family.

  • College of William & Mary, B.A., magna cum laude 1999
  • Harvard Law School, J.D. cum laude 2002

Honors

  • Best Lawyers in America: Appellate Practice, 2020 – 2025
  • AV rating from Martindale
  • Virginia Super Lawyer (2016-2023), and Rising Star (2008-2015)
  • Virginia Business, Legal Elite (2014-2020)

Activities

  • Boyd-Graves Conference
    • Chair, Committee Evaluating H.B. 2415 (2019)
    • Chair, Committee Evaluating Res Judicata Effect of Contempt Findings (2017)
  • Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
    • Appellate Section Chair (2013-2014)
  • Virginia Bar Association
    • Appellate Practice Section Council, Publications Chair (2020-21)
  • National Association of Consumer Advocates
  • American Association for Justice
  • Federal Bar Association, Roanoke Chapter
  • Roanoke Bar Association
    • Director (2014-2018)
    • Audit Committee Chair (2014-2015)
    • CLE Chair (2015-2018)

Publications

  • James J. O’Keeffe, You Could Have Told Me That in the First Place: Five Tips That Might Have Saved a Young Lawyer a Lot of Trouble, 52 U. RICH. L. REV. ONLINE 53 (2017)
  • James J. O’Keeffe, 7 Ways to Ruin a Perfectly Good Brief, 26J. VA. TRIAL LAW ASS’N 17 (2017)
  • James J. O’Keeffe & Joshua C. Johnson, Social Media & Discovery-New Tools, Same Rules, 22 CIV. LITIG. 4 (Winter 2010)
  • Travis J. Graham & James J. O’Keeffe, Have You Made a Last-Ditch, Desperate, & Disingenuous Attempt to Subvert the Legal Process Today? 57 VA. L. MAGAZINE No. 7 at 32 (Feb. 2009)
  • Virginia State Bar