Trial Lawyer Does Double Duty as SLU Law Dean While Winning $25M in Settlements
Thomas Q. “Tom” Keefe Jr. Photo courtesy of Thomas Q.
Keefe, Jr., P.C.
Some might find working either as a law school dean or a busy plaintiffs’ lawyer a more than full-time job.
Tom Keefe Jr. is doing both. Temporarily at the helm of the law school at St. Louis University after his predecessor resigned suddenly in the midst of a dispute with SLU’s president, he admits that he is having to “work a little bit later every night and a little bit longer on the weekends,” the Madison/St. Clair Record reports.
However, he says he is greatly enjoying his work as law dean, citing in particular the chance to interact with and teach students and the opportunity the job gives him to have a platform to speak his own mind. Meanwhile, he has personally made some $25 million in case settlements in his private practice since September.
Challenges of the job included winning the faculty’s trust and adapting to a very different decision-making style, in academia, than what he is used to, Keefe tells the legal publication.
It isn’t certain how long he will continue to do dual duty, but Keefe’s own daughter is currently a third-year law student at SLU and he says he hopes to hand her a diploma at graduation.
Additional and related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Turmoil at SLU: Law Dean Resigns, Cites Funding Issues, ‘Hostility,’ Prez Says She Was to Be Fired”
ABAJournal.com: “PI Attorney Plans to Do SLU Law Dean’s Job for a Year, Plus His Own Law Practice”
ABAJournal.com: “Does Law School’s Appointment of Kirkland Leader as Dean Signal New Focus on Legal Jobs?”
