Keith Dutill is a trial lawyer with a national practice focused on high stakes litigation including securities fraud, investment management and intellectual property disputes. He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been consistently listed by The Best Lawyers in America in multiple substantive litigation fields. Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has identified him as a leader in commercial litigation in Pennsylvania and as “particularly well known for his work in the financial services arena.” Best Lawyers selected Keith as its 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” for intellectual property litigation in Philadelphia.
Keith has tried more than 50 cases to conclusion. On the plaintiff’s side, he has recovered in excess of $200 million in the aggregate for his clients. He has also successfully defended both public and private companies in jury trials involving claims ranging from securities fraud and antitrust violations to patent infringement and theft of trade secrets.
Keith’s recent engagements include prosecuting the claims of mutual funds as opt-out plaintiffs in securities fraud cases against Teva, Perrigo, Celgene and Petrobras, representing independent directors of mutual funds in litigation under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act, and defending investors victimized by a Philadelphia Ponzi scheme. His recent trials include prosecuting to a seven-figure jury verdict a bank fraud case in the Eastern District of Virginia and successfully defending the widow of a prominent Philadelphia judge in an undue influence case brought by the heirs to the Dow Jones fortune. Some of Keith’s other notable outcomes include securing a summary dismissal in New York of all claims related to auction rate preferred share redemptions on behalf of mutual funds, successfully prosecuting the claims of opt-out mutual funds damaged by the $1 billion fraud at India’s Satyam Computer Services, defending a publicly traded Swiss electronics company against patent infringement claims, and defeating on summary judgment a $550 million claim against a public company. Keith also served as lead counsel to a court-appointed Receiver and recovered $75 million for defrauded institutional investors following the collapse of a Cayman Islands hedge fund.
His wins include the largest punitive damages verdict ever in a business case in one suburban Philadelphia county, and the complete exoneration of a national broker-dealer following a federal jury trial and appeal in a collective action securities fraud case. He has defended independent directors and protected the interests of investors and businesses in state and federal courts across the country. He has also defended clients in the securities and mutual fund industries before government agencies and self-regulatory organizations.
Keith served two terms on the firm’s Board of Directors and is currently Co-Chair of the Investment Management Litigation group. He has been an active leader nationally among the trial bar, serving four terms as Co-Chair of the Trial Practice Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. He also co-chaired the ABA Committee responsible for national training programs for trial lawyers. Keith has taught courtroom skills to trial lawyers in seminars and workshops across the country.