Pa. workers' comp attorney appointed to seat on state Board of Law Examiners

A western Pennsylvania attorney who specializes in workers’ compensation law has been

appointed to a three-year term on the Board of Law Examiners, the seven-member panel tasked with recommending the admission of people to practice law in the commonwealth.

The state Supreme Court on July 11 announced that it has appointed C. Robert Keenan, III, a shareholder in the Pittsburgh law firm of Davies, McFarland & Carroll, P.C., to a term on the board expiring on June 9, 2016.

According to a biography on his firm’s website, Keenan has represented municipalities, employers and insurers in the workers’ compensation arena since 1979.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law graduate has tried cases in both state and federal court, he has served as a special master presiding over civil jury trials at the Common Pleas Court level, and he has served as an arbitrator in civil litigation.

Keenan’s clients have included small businesses, municipalities and self-insurance pools and industrial giants, his bio states.

Keenan is a past member of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee, he is a past chair of the group’s Real Property Section, and he is a past member of, and current lecturer with, the association’s Workers’ Compensation Section.

Keenan also serves on the Workers’ Compensation and Governmental Liability Committees of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, and he is active with the Workers’ Compensation Education Coalition and The Pennsylvania Self-Insurers’ Association.

At the national level, Keenan serves on the Workers’ Compensation and Governmental Liability Committees of the Defense Research Institute, and he serves on the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policies.

Furthermore, Keenan serves as a member of the American Bar Association’s State and Local Bargaining Committee, and he was past vice chairman of the ABA’s Tort and Insurance Practice Section.

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners meets monthly to review bar admission rules and recommend rule changes.

The panel also reviews proposed bar essay exam questions, it approves examination results, and it sets policy and handles other bar admission obligations as charged by the Supreme Court.