Vanessa Keith is an Officer in the Litigation and Labor and Employment Law Practice Groups with 20 years experience. Prior to joining the Firm, she worked as in-house corporate counsel for a Fortune 500 company. She was responsible for managing outside counsel, preparing, reviewing and approving case strategies, budgets and a host of other legal functions. She managed staff in carrying out these responsibilities. She advised her business unit colleagues in business litigation matters, telecommunications outside plant, real estate, and labor and employment law. The breadth of that experience is a differential value added service. Currently, she concentrates her practice in the areas of labor and employment law litigation and counseling and commercial litigation and counseling. Ms. Keith has practiced before federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels, the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as its state counterparts.
Ms. Keith has successfully handled Collective Bargaining Agreement arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association. She assists clients with issues concerning employee discipline and termination and compliance with employment laws such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). She also assists clients in the preparation and enforcement of employee handbooks, personnel policies, employment agreements and separation agreements.
Ms. Keith is an Adjunct Professor at Washington University School of Law where she teaches "Pretrial Practice and Procedure." This course culminates in a section on alternative dispute resolution.
Publications
- Letisha D. Bivins, Amy Leigh Carstensen, Kathryn H. Christian, Mac Richard McCoy & Vanessa K. R. Keith, Nonprofit Law and Litigation, in Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation 1285 (2008).
Seminars
- Vanessa Keith, Employment Issues for the Medical Professional, Presentation Before the Mound City Medical Forum (June 6, 2009).
- Vanessa Keith, The Changing Landscape of Employment Law, Presentation Before the Mound City Bar Association (May 3, 2009).
- Vanessa Keith, Good Lawyering: How to Prepare a Case for Trial, Presentation Before the Mound City Bar Association, (Oct. 26, 2006)
- Vanessa Keith, Women, Finances and the Law, Presentation Before the Central Baptist Church Women's Conference (June 24, 2006).
- Vanessa Keith, Women, Wills and Other Legal Documents, Presentation Before the Central Baptist Church Bereavement Seminar (Oct. 29, 2005).
- Vanessa Keith, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Presentation Before the Jack & Jill St. Louis Chapter’s Women’s Conference (Sept. 17, 2005).
Cases
- Union Arbitrations - Lead Counsel, multiple arbitrations between the Communications Workers of America and a major telecommunications company.
- Commercial Litigation, Tariffs - Lead Trial Counsel in a case in which the Missouri Court of Appeals held that a tariff that has been approved by the Public Service Commission becomes Missouri law and has the same force and effect as a statute enacted by the legislature. Allstates Transworld Van Lines v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 937 S.W.2d 314 (Mo. App 1996).
- Civil Rights - Successfully defended a major healthcare system in a case involving race discrimination and retaliation.
- Civil Rights - Successfully defended a major telecommunications company in a case involving sexual harassment and retaliation.
- Americans with Disabilities Act - Successfully defended a major telecommunications company in a case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act and a failure to accommodate a learning disability.
Community Involvement
- Historical Society for the Eastern District of Missouri, 2003-Present
- Development Committee, Mathews-Dickey Boy’s & Girl’s Club
- The Links, Incorporated, Archway Chapter
- Jack & Jill, Inc., St. Louis Chapter