JOHN R. O’KEEFE, JR.
John provides counsel and representation to corporate clients from the financial, lending, real estate, and construction sectors in matters such as commercial loan documentation, creditors' rights, workouts, bankruptcy, commercial, construction and employment litigation, real estate, and other business transactions.

An experienced commercial civil litigator, John represents financial institutions, businesses, and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial, bankruptcy, construction, and employment matters, including breach of contract claims, real estate matters, shareholder rights and disputes, covenants not to compete, employment rights issues, banking, and bankruptcy claims.

Additionally, John has represented a wide range of businesses and individuals including developers, lessors, lessees, property managers and lenders in a variety of real estate lending, acquisition, sales, leasing, development and construction matters. His representation has included negotiation, documentation, closing of purchase, sale or lease as well as construction and claim litigation.

Practice Areas
• Commercial and Civil Litigation
• Creditor’s Rights Law
• Bankruptcy
• Banking Law
• Business Transactions
• Commercial Real Estate
• Employment Litigation

Representative Matters
• Successfully defended a regional banking institution in a multi-million dollar
lender liability lawsuit stemming from an 18 year lending relationship, which also
included several hundred consumer claims and lawsuits against the regional
bank for its participation in its borrower's direct and indirect consumer lending
involving multiple sale, lease and licensing of two multi-use real estate facilities.
• Represented a foreign bank and regional bank agent in a $27 million workout,
collecting all money due, including interest and attorneys' fees, by aggressive
participation in insolvency proceedings in Toronto, Canada, the related proceedings
of a U.S. affiliate in the Middle District of Florida and the state court receivership,
involuntary and voluntary bankruptcy proceedings of a U.S. affiliate in the
Western District of Pennsylvania.
• Represented a Japanese corporation in state court liquidation, dissolution and
receivership proceedings for a subsidiary having a manufacturing and product
development facility in Western Pennsylvania.
• Successfully tried multi-million dollar bankruptcy nondischargeability case in the
Northern District of Ohio.
• Represented a variety of secured creditors in multitude of workout, prosecution
and defense of state and federal court litigation, state and federal court receiverships
and bankruptcy adversary, reorganization and liquidation cases.
• Represented majority and minority partners and corporate shareholders in
partner and/or shareholder disputes in state and federal litigation.
• Acted as Commonwealth of Pennsylvania statewide counsel to the Resolution
Trust Corporation handling all Pennsylvania commercial real estate sales, 
which involved participating in the preparation of seller finance documents,
representation at annual northeast real estate auctions and handling each
property closing, including all  title, financing and disbursement issues and
frequent dealings with national counsel to a national title company.

Experience
• 2001  Metz Lewis LLC
              Member of the Executive Committee
              Co-Chairman, Commercial Lending, Creditor’s Rights, Workout and
              Bankruptcy Group

Education
• 1982  J.D., Duquesne University School of Law
              Member, Duquesne Law Review
• 1979  B.S., magna cum laude, Business Administration and Finance,
              LaSalle University

Admissions
• Pennsylvania
• District of Columbia
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
• U.S. Tax Court

Professional Affiliations and Honors
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Allegheny County Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• Recognized as an AV® rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell peer review
• Named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer by Philadelphia Magazine 2008, 2009