Ruth Keyes has been a litigator in state and federal courts for over 20 years. Prior to working for Ruttenberg Law, Ruth litigated eminent domain matters in New York City, served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alabama and represented clients in both criminal and civil matters in private practice.
Ruth understands that while an attorney may have many clients, a client often has only one attorney and thus, Ruth strives to bring attentive and empathetic counsel to the clients whom she represents.
LEGAL EXPERIENCE:
King County Bar Association, Seattle, Washington
- Intake and referral volunteer for Neighborhood Legal Clinics Program.
- Clinic attorney providing legal counsel to low-income families.
KL Gates, Seattle, Washington
e-DAT Lawyer
- Reviewed documents in large scale discovery matters.
Goldstein, Goldstein, Rikon & Gottlieb, P.C., New York, New York
Associate Attorney
Litigated real property eminent domain cases representing both property owners and condemning authorities.
- Appeared weekly in state trial courts for pretrial conferences, motion practice and settlement negotiations.
- Achieved successful award in medical malpractice trial against the State of New York.
- Researched and wrote appellate briefs, memorandums of law, discovery and pre-trial motions on various land use issues such as remediation of contaminated property, zoning and constitutional compliance.
State of Alabama, Mobile, Alabama
Assistant Attorney General
Represented the State of Alabama in establishing and enforcing paternity actions and child support claims litigated in state courts and federal bankruptcy courts.
- Managed a regional office handling a caseload of six thousand cases with two other attorneys under minimal supervision.
Byrd & Stock, Mobile, Alabama
Associate Attorney
- Worked as a general practice attorney representing clients in matters of domestic relations, criminal defense, juvenile proceedings and appellate law.
- Litigated hundreds of bench trials and six jury trials, including a three-day murder trial.
- Expanded client base through referrals from clients and fellow attorneys.
King County Defender Association, Seattle, Washington
Intern, Summer 1995
- Represented juveniles at consent decree hearings and adults at arraignments and bond hearings.
- Researched Freedom of Information Act to procure protected documents in the State’s possession.
EDUCATION:
Tulane University, School of Law, New Orleans, Louisiana
Juris Doctor, May 1996
- Recipient of Student Public Interest Law Foundation Grant
- Administrative Advocacy Clinic; Family Law Clinic
- Research Assistant to Professor Catherine Hancock, January 1995 – May 1996 pertaining to issues for inclusion in a Constitutional Criminal Procedure textbook.
Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, cum laude, 1992
- National Honor Society; Psi Chi Honor Society
- Gamma Phi Beta, Pledge Director
OTHER:
- Contributor, Condemnation Law and Procedure in New York, Chapter 1: “Public Use, An Ever-Evolving Concept,” published by the New York State Bar Association, August 2005.
- Bar Admissions: Washington, 2005 (Inactive – New York, 2001; Alabama, 1996)