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Susan M. McKeever

Partner

(248) 822-7813

Related Services

Class Actions

Critical Motions and Appeals

Embedded Appellate Counsel for Trial

Financial Services

Governmental and Policy Litigation

Insurance

Product Liability

Education

Villanova School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 1992

Rutgers University, B.A., 1989

Judicial Clerkship

Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 2008-2010

Chief Judge John F. Gerry, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1992-1993

Court Admissions

Michigan State Courts

New York State Courts

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Susan M. McKeever is a member of BSP’s appellate, class action, and complex briefing team, representing clients at trial and on appeal in a broad range of matters in state and federal court.

Susan specializes in analyzing and briefing a variety of complex issues, including constitutional law, contracts, ethics, federal rules and procedure, financial services, insurance, jurisdiction and removal, product liability, statutory interpretation, and tax.  Her clients include auto manufacturers, financial services companies, home builders, insurers, and software companies.

Critical Motions and Appeals

  • Provides trial and appellate consultation for manufacturing, construction, and financial services clients.
  • Critical motions and appellate counsel for auto manufacture in product liability, consumer protection, tort, and contract actions in state and federal courts across the country.
  • Secured pre-discovery dismissal with prejudice of federal breach of warranty and consumer protection suit against auto maker.
  • Secured pre-discovery dismissal with prejudice of federal constitutional suit against substance abuse counseling provider.
  • Successfully defended appeal of breach of contract suit against financial services company, sustaining federal jurisdiction and winning with-prejudice dismissal of appeal.
  • Served as critical motions and appellate counsel in consumer protection trial that resulted in jury verdict in favor of financial services company defendant on all counts, and also successfully defended that verdict in post-trial motions.
  • Represented international auto maker in state court shipping negligence action leading to favorable settlement.
  • Michigan counsel for insurance companies in federal and state court ERISA and breach of contract actions.
  • Michigan counsel for auto companies in federal patent actions.
  • Co-counsel to state legislature in constitutional and statutory challenged to governor’s executive orders.
  • Appellate counsel to auto maker in state court sales and use tax appeals.
  • Won interlocutory published decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals reversing and remanding for judgment in favor of multinational automaker company.
  • Represented Michigan Senate and House of Representatives in litigation about the governor’s emergency powers.

Class and Mass Tort Litigation

  • Won order compelling arbitration and dismissal of class claims in putative class action alleging consumer fraud against national homebuilder.
  • Assisted in obtaining dismissal of punitive damages claims, exclusion of liability and damages experts, and denial of class certification for $2 billion construction defect putative class action in Florida federal court.
  • Represents auto maker in federal multidistrict litigation alleging consumer fraud and warranty violations for mileage-per-gallon disclosures.
  • Represents private software company in putative class action alleging product liability, negligence and constitutional claims on behalf of 40,000 individuals.
  • Won dismissal of putative class action alleging procedural due process against international software company.

Pro bono

  • Roster member, Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System.
  • Appellate counsel for appeal from juvenile life imprisonment sentence.
  • Provides consultation to legal aid for federal court actions.
  • Assisted in habeas petition resulting in release of wrongfully detained immigrant.

Susan graduated summa cum laude from the Villanova School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts at Rutgers University. Before joining BSP in 2013, Susan worked in the Litigation and Corporate departments of the New York office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Susan clerked for Judge Stephen Murphy III (E.D. Mich.) and Chief Judge John F. Gerry (D.N.J.).  While in law school, she interned for Judge Dolores K. Sloviter (3rd Cir.).  Susan also clerked in the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the General Counsel and interned in the U.S. Department of State Legal Advisor’s Office.

Honors & Awards

Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Women in the Law, 2021

Law Review

Order of the Coif

International Moot Court Team, Regional Finalist, Winner Best Brief


Professional Activities

Federal Bar Association Eastern District of Michigan, Complex Litigation Committee, Co-Chair and Sustaining Member 

State Bar of Michigan, Member

State Bar of Michigan, Civil Procedure and Courts Committee, Member

State Bar of New York, Member

Michigan Appellate Bench Bar, Planning Committee, Member

Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Member

Presentations

“SCOTUS Key Business Case Review & Preview” presented to Association of Corporate Counsel-Michigan (August 2021)

“Multi-District Litigation Seminar” Federal Bar Association of the Eastern District of Michigan, Moderator (April 2021)


Publications

“Boeing Opinion Strikes Blow Against Overpayment Theory ” Law360, co-author (2023)

“‘People v. Bennett’ and the importance of pro bono” Michigan Lawyers Weekly (April 2021)

“Affirmative Defenses Demystified: Follow the Rules” Detroit Lawyer Magazine, co-author (2020)

“As Universal Life Insurance Premiums Increase, So Does Class Action Litigation” DRI For the Defense (August 2018)

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