Keker & Van Nest Power Struggle Led to Defections

Lawyers from Keker & Van Nest and a new law firm of defecting lawyers have made polite public statements about the split, but beneath the surface lies bitterness over a power struggle.

The Daily Journal (sub. req.) conducted more than two dozen interviews and learned that Daralyn Durie left the San Francisco-based litigation boutique along with four other Keker partners after repeated unsuccessful attempts to win more authority there. She had been at the firm for 15 years.

The Daily Journal story says name partner John Keker, 65, objected to Durie’s attempts at forming an executive committee that would have more power, and other partners acquiesced. Keker “exerts near-total control despite long-standing internal concerns over succession,” according to the story.

When news of the split broke in February, Durie told the Recorder, "We all thought it would be fun to be in a smaller environment. It allows us to be a little more entrepreneurial.” The startup firm, Durie Tangri Lemley Roberts & Kent, includes Stanford patent law professor Mark Lemley, who had worked for Keker in an of counsel capacity, and Durie's life partner, Ragesh Tangri.

After the departure, Keker took over an Intel case that had been Tangri’s and retained Google, Comcast and Hoffman-La Roche as clients, the story says. Durie Tangri, on the other hand, represents clients such as Pacific Gas & Electric Co., in patent infringement lawsuits, Morrison & Foerster in a professional negligence case, and Google in an infringement settlement.

Keker told the Daily Journal his age isn’t a problem. "You're a middle-aged lawyer when you are 65," he said. "Don't tell anyone I am going anywhere."