Ron Kilgard
New York/Phoenix

1140 6th Avenue, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10036

 

3101 North Central Avenue, Suite 1400

Phoenix, AZ 85012

 

602.230.6324 602.248.2822
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Ron Kilgard is a 45-year civil litigation lawyer.Over a long career, he has handled all manner of civil cases, from routine automobile accidents and two-party contract disputes of no interest to anyone but the parties, to multi-million-dollar class actions covered in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. For the last 20 years, Ron has mostly litigated pension plan class actions. Ron helped Keller Rohrback pioneer company stock ERISA litigation in the late 1990s and early 2000s; he was part of the team that obtained settlements of over $265 million in the Enron 401(k) litigation. In 2017, after six years of litigation, Ron prevailed in an action challenging as unconstitutional the cutbacks to the pensions of Arizona state court judges. That same year, Ron began representing pro bono, and is still representing, a client fleeing gang-related violence in El Salvador. More recently is he part of the firm’s team in the national opioid litigation.

Ron clerked for the Hon. Mary M. Schroeder, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in 1979-80. He was one of the lawyers who formed the Phoenix office of Keller Rohrback L.L.P. in November 2002. In 2023 he moved to New York, where he continues to practice for the firm.

Professional & Civic Involvement

National Immigrant Justice Center, Pro Bono Counsel

Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, Pro Bono Counsel

Articles & Presentations

Speaker, New Developments in Church Plan Litigation, ACI National Forum on ERISA Litigation (2015-2017).

Speaker, Fiduciary Implications of Company Stock Lawsuits, National Center for Employee Ownership (2012 and 2013).

Speaker, West LegalWorks ERISA Litigation Conference (2007).

Speaker, Company Stock Litigation, Chicago Bar Association (2006).

Speaker, After Enron, ABA Seminar (2006).

Honors & Awards

Best Lawyers in America®, Phoenix, Arizona, 2025 (Recognized since 2013):
•    Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
•    Litigation - ERISA 
•    Litigation - Labor and Employment

Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, 2018 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (adult cases)

Practice Emphasis

Education

Harvard CollegeB.A., cum laude, 1973, History 

Harvard Divinity SchoolM.T.S., 1975, Old Testament 

Arizona State University College of LawJ.D., magna cum laude, 1979, Editor-in Chief, Arizona State Law Journal, Armstrong Award (outstanding graduate)

 

Bar and Court Admissions

1979, Arizona Supreme Court

1979, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

1982, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

1995, U.S. Supreme Court

2005, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

2005, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

2007, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

2009, District of Columbia Court of Appeals

2010, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

2010, U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota

2011, New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division

2012, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

2013, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

2013, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

2014, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

2014, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

2015, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

2015, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

2016, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

2016, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

2016, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

2016, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

2016, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

2017, Executive Office for Immigration Review

2019, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

 

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