Honorable Douglas E. McKeon has an impeccable reputation for integrity, knowledge of the law and superior settlement skills and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to NAM. His distinguished judicial career spans more than three decades which includes 28 years spent as Justice of the Supreme Court, Twelfth Judicial District, Bronx County. During his time on the bench, Judge McKeon oversaw thousands of cases and presided over numerous disputes that included medical malpractice litigation, pre-litigation investigation at the request of client hospitals, analysis of liability, exposure, and settlement negotiations on behalf of individual physicians and major medical centers throughout the New York Metropolitan area. He was first elected to the high court in 1989 and was re-elected twice in 2003 and 2017.

Judge McKeon successfully pioneered a pilot program with the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, that was created to resolve medical malpractice disputes more expeditiously. At its core, the program addressed how lawsuits against municipal hospitals can use specially trained judges, with expertise in medical matters, to negotiate cases and supervise the entire process, bring parties together and help broker the settlement. The program proved to be an unqualified success and was expanded throughout New York State in 2011. Subsequently, Judge McKeon was appointed Statewide Coordinating Judge for the New York State Medical Malpractice Program in 2014 where he served over the next five years.

As a New York State Supreme Court Justice, Hon. McKeon has handled many high-profile cases. Among them, he negotiated the settlement in the Happy Land Fire case, the single largest mass disaster suit resolved in state court. He was also praised for his compassionate handling of the Teron Francis case, the tragic story of a youngster on life support and with whom Justice McKeon spent three nights at Montefiore Hospital.

Throughout his many years on the bench, Judge McKeon has demonstrated a keen legal intellect, an ideal judicial temperament, a compassion for those who appeared before him and an openness and willingness to listen to arguments. His prominent appointments, by Honorable A. Gail Prudenti, Honorable Ann Pfau and Honorable Jonathan Lippman, to head several courts, are further evidence of his remarkable abilities. Those include five years served as Presiding Justice, Appellate Term of the Supreme Court, First Department, and seven years spent as Administrative Judge for Civil Matters. He also served as Administrative Judge for Criminal matters.

Prior to his ascension to the bench, Justice McKeon enjoyed a distinguished career as a trial and appellate lawyer. He tried significant cases in the state and federal courts and argued before the New York Court of Appeals, Appellate Division for the First and Second Departments and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Thereafter, he served as Associate Counsel to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, New York City Tax Commissioner and Judge of the Civil Court prior to his election as Justice in 1989.

Justice McKeon is a staunch supporter of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and strongly believes in settlement through mediation over courtroom litigation. His experience on the bench, combined with the time spent in private practice, has given him a broad range of knowledge in medical malpractice matters and case evaluation. He is extremely skilled at negotiation and can handle everything from the simplest of cases to the most complex of matters and legal issues. As such, Honorable McKeon is unequivocally qualified to facilitate settlements through mediation and to fairly and expertly decide on arbitration matters.

According to the New York Judge Reviews, attorneys who have appeared before Judge McKeon have commented that “his decisions are well-reasoned”; “he pushes for settlement to the point that he will not let you try the case; he really wants cases to settle”; “an excellent judicial presence”; “very pleasant and personable”; “he has a marvelous sense of fairness.”

Justice McKeon is a frequent lecturer on a wide range of topics before bar associations throughout the New York Metro area and has co-authored a two-volume work entitled Personal Injury in New York. He holds an AV Preeminent Peer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell – a distinction given only to those who possess the highest ethical standards and professional ability.

Judge McKeon is available to arbitrate and mediate cases throughout New York State.