Jesse Keene

Jesse’s practice is focused on construction law and government contracts with particular concentration on litigation, international and domestic arbitration, claim preparation, and strategic project advice.

For more than a dozen years, Jesse has represented owners, general contractors, design professionals, and subcontractors in every phase of a construction project. Clients rely on Jesse’s candid, straight-forward, and strategic advice in drafting contracts, providing project counsel during design and construction, preparing and evaluating claims, or participating in post-project dispute resolution. They know that Jesse’s objective is achieving the best possible business result.

Jesse is an experienced litigator having successfully tried numerous cases in state and federal courts and before administrative panels. Jesse also regularly represents clients in international construction arbitrations under the ICC, UNCITRAL, and ICDR rules. In his international practice, Jesse has assisted clients on shipping and supply contracts and in disputes on mega-projects for the engineering, procurement, and construction of liquified natural gas production and storage facilities, power plants, and the construction of overseas facilities for the U.S. Departments of State and Defense.

Jesse is a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry, the Society of Construction Law – North America, the Board of Governors of the Virginia State Bar’s Section on Construction and Public Contracts Law, and the Washington Building Congress. He was a co-author of the Virginia Practice Guide Construction Volume published by Thomson Reuters (2016 through 2019 editions). And, since 2014, Jesse has been listed by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Washington, DC for Construction Law.

Jesse earned his Bachelor of Arts from Washington State University where he served as student body president. He earned his J.D. from the Gonzaga University School of Law and served on the Gonzaga Law Review editorial board. After practicing construction and commercial litigation in the state of Washington, Jesse moved cross-country and earned a Master of Laws (LL.M) from The George Washington University Law School. His master’s thesis was published in the Federal Circuit Law Journal and has been cited before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is an avid baseball fan and runner and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and three children.