Mike Keester has more than 30 years of experience in Complex Business Litigation. He also has experience serving as an arbitrator. Mike is an experienced litigator handling many types of cases. He has represented insurance carriers, agencies of the State of Oklahoma, public trusts such as the Tulsa Airport Authority and Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, engineering and architectural companies, construction firms, banks and financial institutions, legal and accounting professionals, manufacturers and home builders, as well as many corporations, businesses and individuals. In addition, he is a Senior Member of the firm's Board of Directors.
Mike has an AV rating through Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Fellow in the Construction Lawyers Society of America. In addition, he has been selected a Best Lawyer in America in Litigation-Construction, Litigation-Municipal and Commercial Litigation, and has been recognized as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer in Civil Litigation Defense, as well as Construction Litigation. Further, he was named the 2012, 2015 and 2019 Tulsa Lawyer of the Year in Construction Law by Best Lawyers. In addition, he has received the Tulsa County Bar Association Distinguished Service Award.
Education
- University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., with honors, 1984) (Order of the Coif)
- University of Oklahoma (B.A. in Political Science, with distinction, 1981) Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
- Oklahoma, 1984
- Oklahoma Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma
- United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- Appellate
- Banking/Commercial Finance Services
- Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditor's Rights
- Complex Commercial Issues
- Construction
- Healthcare
- Insurance Law & Tort Litigation
- Labor & Employment
- Litigation
- Municipal & Public Authority
- Oil & Gas
- Professional Malpractice & Liability
- 1993 - Present Hall Estill
- 1984 - 1993 Jones, Givens, Gotcher, Bogan & Hilborne
- 2019 Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year - Construction - Tulsa
- 2015 Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year - Construction - Tulsa
- 2012 Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year - Construction - Tulsa
- Fellow, Construction Lawyers Society of America
- AV peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell
- American Bar Association - Member, Litigation and Construction Law Sections
- Oklahoma Bar Association - Member, Civil Procedure Committee
- Tulsa County Bar Association - Member, Professional Responsibility, Professionalism (Chairman), Law Day Committees
- American Inns of Court
- Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel (Director)
- Association of Defense Counsel, Board of Directors, Distinguished Service Award in 2005
- Defense Research Institute
- Member, Board of Directors & Secretary, Hearts for Hearing
- American Heart Association (Past Director)
- University of Oklahoma College of Law Alumni Association (Director, Past President)
- Vice-Chairman, City of Tulsa Ethics Advisory Committee
- Instructor, Seminar - "Initiating the Lawsuit and Pretrial Discovery"
- Construction Attorney Mike Keester - Contractual Provisions: Delay in Completion of Construction Projects
- Mike Keester - Construction Is Mostly Continuing Nationwide, But Firms Need To Beware Of Hidden Liabilities
- Construction Attorney Mike Keester - Construction Industry Bracing for Impact of COVID-19
- Mike Keester: The Coronavirus Is Delaying a Construction Project. What Does Your Contract Say?
- Mike Keester in Construction Dive - 6 ways the coronavirus outbreak will affect construction
- Construction Attorney Mike Keester: Construction firms urged to plan for labor shortages, delays