Judge C. Virginia Keeny

Judge C. Virginia Keeny serves on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2012. Her pre-bench career is defined by a sustained focus on employment discrimination and civil rights law. She clerked for Hon. William A. Norris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, worked as a public interest fellow, served as a Senior Trial Attorney at the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office, and became a named partner at Hadsell, Stormer, Keeny, Richardson, and Renick, LLP — a firm known for plaintiff-side employment and civil rights litigation. The ACLU of Southern California recognized her with a Pro Bono Advocacy Award in 2006, reflecting her documented commitment to civil rights advocacy prior to taking the bench. Public records indicate Judge Keeny has presided over family law matters, and her rulings in that context have drawn public scrutiny. A Metropolitan News-Enterprise report references a case in which a custody evaluator was found to be biased, and a Change.org petition calling for her removal as a family law judge has surfaced in public coverage. These records establish that her family law work has been contested and publicly visible, though no specific ruling outcomes are available in the current data set. With no analyzed rulings or attorney observations in the current data set, the intelligence in this profile is drawn exclusively from her verified career history, appointment record, and public coverage. Attorneys should treat the strategic guidance below as grounded in her documented professional background rather than observed courtroom patterns.

Judge Keeny's entire pre-bench career was spent on the plaintiff side of employment discrimination and civil rights litigation, including time at the EEOC enforcing federal anti-discrimination law. Attorneys handling employment, civil rights, or discrimination matters before her should expect a judge with deep substantive familiarity with those legal frameworks, procedural postures, and the evidentiary standards involved. Arguments that minimize or dismiss discrimination claims without rigorous factual and legal support are unlikely to be persuasive given her professional background. In family law matters, the public record indicates her rulings have generated significant controversy, including a documented petition for her removal and coverage of a case involving a biased custody evaluator. Attorneys in family law proceedings should be prepared for close judicial scrutiny of expert witnesses, particularly custody evaluators. The documented case involving evaluator bias signals that Judge Keeny has engaged critically with the reliability and neutrality of such experts. Attorneys relying on custody evaluator reports should be prepared to defend the evaluator's methodology and impartiality. Because no direct ruling analyses or attorney observations are available, attorneys should conduct independent research into recent decisions from her courtroom through Trellis, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, and Los Angeles Superior Court records before any appearance. Her Stanford Law and Harvard undergraduate credentials, combined with a Ninth Circuit clerkship, suggest comfort with sophisticated legal argument, but no courtroom behavioral patterns can be confirmed from the current data.

• critical

  Research Recent Rulings Independently

  No rulings are available in the current data set. Before any appearance, search Trellis, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, and Los Angeles Superior Court public records for recent decisions from Judge Keeny's courtroom to identify current procedural preferences and ruling patterns.

• critical

  Prepare to Defend Custody Evaluator Credentials

  A documented case in her courtroom involved a custody evaluator found to be biased. In any family law matter involving a custody evaluation, prepare a thorough record of the evaluator's qualifications, methodology, and neutrality before the hearing.

• important

  Develop Rigorous Employment Discrimination Arguments

  Given her career as an EEOC trial attorney and plaintiff-side employment discrimination partner, attorneys on either side of employment matters should expect a judge who will probe the legal and factual basis of discrimination claims with expertise. Superficial arguments will not suffice.

• important

  Prepare Precise Legal Briefing

  Her Ninth Circuit clerkship and Stanford Law background indicate exposure to high-level legal analysis. Briefs and oral arguments should be legally precise, well-organized, and cite controlling authority accurately.

• Nice

  Review Metropolitan News-Enterprise Coverage

  The Metropolitan News-Enterprise has published coverage of at least one case before Judge Keeny. Reviewing that coverage provides context on how her rulings have been publicly characterized and what issues have drawn attention in her courtroom.

• ›Present legal arguments with precision and citation to controlling authority — her appellate clerkship background reflects a standard of rigorous legal analysis.
• ›In family law proceedings, be prepared for close examination of expert witness qualifications and methodology, particularly for custody evaluators, given the documented case involving evaluator bias.
• ›Do not minimize or dismiss civil rights or employment discrimination claims without a fully developed factual and legal record — her career was built on litigating these issues at the highest level.
• ›Conduct independent research into her current courtroom procedures and local rules before appearing, as no direct behavioral observations are available in the current data set.