ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Steven J. Keeler, Keeler PLC / Charlottesville
Steven J. Keeler (Steve) has practiced business planning, transaction and tax law for 35 years in large and small law firms located across Virginia. He represents private companies, their owners and investors in connection with business ownership changes, including succession planning, venture capital and private equity financings, mergers and acquisitions and sales and exit planning. Steve was a partner in the corporate and private equity groups of McGuireWoods LLP (Charlottesville) from 2013 to 2021.
Prior to that, he practiced with several small and mid-sized law firms in Richmond, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg. In 2021, he founded Keeler PLC to continue serving private companies, their owners and investors as lead planning or transaction counsel, frequently (and preferably) as co-counsel working with a company’s regular legal counsel.
Steve received his Bachelor of Business Administration (in Accounting) from The College of William & Mary in 1983 (later passing the Certified Public Accountant Examination in Virginia), his Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond Law School in 1986 (serving on the Editorial Board of its Law Review), and his Masters of Law in Taxation (with distinction) from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1990. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Business Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and has chaired or participated in the Annual Advanced Business Law Conference in prior years. Steve grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia (where he sat on the bench watching Ralph Sampson lead their high school basketball team to consecutive state championships) and now divides his personal and practice time between Charlottesville and an office in Cape Charles, Virginia.
He regularly speaks on topics related to his practice and posts articles on topics related to private company planning and transactions on LinkedIn and his firm website, www.keelercounsel.com. Steve is married to Kate Obenshain Keeler and they have 6 children between the ages of 19 and 25, currently scattered from Hillsdale, Michigan, to Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and the Virginia piedmont and tidewater.He regularly speaks on topics related to his practice and posts articles on topics related to private company planning and transactions on LinkedIn and his firm website, www.keelercounsel.com. Steve is married to Kate Obenshain Keeler and they have 6 children between the ages of 19 and 25, currently scattered from Hillsdale, Michigan, to Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and the Virginia piedmont and tidewater.
Thomas M. Wolf, Miles & Stockbridge / Richmond
Thomas M. Wolf is a Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame trial lawyer focusing on business litigation, particularly in cases involving construction law, corporate governance and shareholder disputes, intellectual property, general commercial law and international law. He heads the Richmond office of Miles & Stockbridge.
In addition to his notable litigation practice, Tom acts as general counsel to a number of companies. He is former president of the International Alliance of Law Firms, a network of business-oriented law firms from around the world. He also is active in a number of construction-related industry groups. Formerly a principal with LeClairRyan, where he headed both the General Counsel Practice and the Construction Industry Team and chaired the Diversity Committee and the Pro Bono Committee, Tom has practiced law in Richmond for more than 40 years.
He has served the Virginia State Bar as chair of both the International Practice Section and the Construction Law and Public Contracts Section. Since 1986, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Tom is listed for commercial litigation, construction law, and construction litigation in The Best Lawyers in America©.
He has been recognized repeatedly by Virginia Business magazine as one of Virginia’s “Legal Elite” and Law and Politics magazine as a Virginia “Super Lawyer” for both civil litigation and construction law. Tom is a frequent lecturer on construction law, litigation, employment law and international law both in the U.S. and abroad.
