Keegan Federal was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew up in Columbus, Georgia.  He studied for the ministry at St. John’s Seminary, and attended Loyola University in New Orleans, received his undergraduate degree and his law degree, with honors, from Emory University, winning three American Jurisprudence Awards for academic achievement.

Keegan passed the bar and was admitted to practice on June 14, 1966, at the age of 22.  Keegan began his trial practice at Shoob, McLain & Jessee in Atlanta, and worked with his mentors, Marvin Shoob (later Judge, USDC, Atlanta), Willis Hunt (later Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court, and Judge, USDC, Atlanta), and Jim Jessee from 1966 to 1968. During these same two years, Keegan pursued an M.B.A. in Insurance Law at Georgia State University’s Evening Division.

Keegan was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in July, 1968, and assigned to Ft. Gordon, Georgia, trying court-martial cases.  From 1969 to 1970, Keegan served in Vietnam, and was awarded the Bronze Star.  Keegan remained active in veterans’ affairs: he chaired Georgia’s Vietnam Veterans’ Leadership Program which conducted seminars for veterans starting a business, and he is a member of the Atlanta Vietnam Veteran’s Business Association, which honors fallen Vietnam veterans each Memorial Day with the placement of a bronze plaque at a ceremony in their memory.

In 1970, Keegan accepted a trial attorney position with Nall Miller & Cadenhead (now Nall & Miller) where he tried a number of injury and death cases.  In 1972, Keegan and his friend Fred Orr started Orr & Federal in Decatur, Georgia, representing individuals and small-to-medium-size companies in a wide variety of legal matters.

Also in 1972, Gov. Brendan Byrne appointed Keegan to the National Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Private Security Task Force, established by Congress to recommend improvements in the criminal justice system.  Keegan chaired the Committee on Government Regulation. The Task Force conducted a study and made recommendations to Congress for improvements in the private security industry’s growing role in the criminal justice system.  Keegan also co-authored a textbook (Legal Aspects of Private Security, by Bilek, Federal, & Klotter; Anderson Publishing Co., 1978), and gave presentations to trade associations and security executives on legal developments in private security.  In 1980, Keegan founded “The Private Security Case Law Reporter,” which became a widely-read periodical on private security legal issues.

Keegan was selected as a member of the 1973-1974 Leadership Atlanta class, and he then conducted programs for ten consecutive Leadership Atlanta classes, and served on the Board of Trustees until 1990.  He continues to be an active alumnus and contributor.

Keegan ran for office in 1976, defeated the incumbent for a seat on the DeKalb Superior Court, and became the youngest Superior Court Judge in the State.  Judge-elect Federal’s first official act was to hire the first African-American ever employed in the DeKalb County courthouse.

As a Superior Court judge, one-third of Judge Federal’s caseload consisted of Civil Jury and Non-Jury trials (business cases, injury and death cases, injunctions, malpractice, etc.), and one-third Felony Criminal cases (murder, rape, armed robbery, assault, drugs, etc.), and one-third Divorce and Custody cases.  In addition, he was considered a “reformer” for dramatically improving the Court’s case-calendaring system, eliminating wasteful calendar calls, curtailing the practice of judge-shopping, permitting expanded media and public access to court proceedings, and testifying against other judges for ethical violations.  Judge Federal also taught Trial Tactics as an Adjunct Professor at Emory Law School from 1978 to 1985.  Judge Federal was selected for membership in “The Outstanding Young People of Atlanta” in 1978.

In 1980, Judge Federal was re-elected to the DeKalb Superior Court, and he was selected as a Faculty Advisor at the National Judicial College.  He was also appointed as the Georgia judicial representative to the National Council of Superior Court judges, and he served on the Sentence Review Board to assure uniformity in sentences from courts throughout the state.  He was selected by Hon. Griffin Bell as a member of the Atlanta Crime Commission.

In 1982, Judge Federal ran for a contested seat on the Georgia Supreme Court.  Although Judge Federal was unsuccessful in his bid to unseat the incumbent in the state-wide election, nevertheless, by pointing out during the campaign that there were no African-Americans working in the Supreme Court, and that there were no African-Americans on any of the Boards appointed by the Supreme Court (e.g., the Board of Bar Examiners), Judge Federal had an impact on the Court and on racial equality in that appropriate actions were taken by the Justices of the Supreme Court, and African-Americans were hired and appointed for the first time.

During his eight years on the bench, Judge Federal gained a reputation as an innovative, fearless, and progressive jurist who ruled on causes before him according to the law, and without regard to any “political” consequences.  In a highly-controversial decision near the end of his term, Judge Federal refused to impose a death penalty verdict which had been announced by a Jury, because he found that the Jury’s verdict was the result of passion and prejudice and not based on the evidence presented.  His decision stood.

In 1984, Keegan resigned his judgeship to join the Atlanta office of Dow Lohnes & Albertson, where he chaired the litigation practice for the next three years, representing the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and WSB-TV.  Although representing the media was exciting and rewarding, Keegan missed the autonomy of his own practice, and in 1987, he re-opened his own firm, now known as Federal & Hasson.  The Firm has been and is a “litigation boutique” practice, representing individuals and companies in many different types of legal disputes (see Representative Cases).

In 1989, Keegan’s daughter, Megan, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury.  As a result of this experience, Keegan’s practice naturally evolved toward representing people with brain and spinal cord injuries, and approximately one-half of Keegan’s practice is now devoted to these Clients.  Keegan has served on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of Georgia, and he founded the Brain Injury Family Assistance Center.  He works closely with the talented and dedicated staff at The Shepherd Center, he has served on the Advisory Board for the State of Georgia’s Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission, and he is also engaged in various fundraising events and efforts on behalf of organizations which provide support and assistance for brain and/or spinal-injured individuals, including the Brain Injury Association, Side-By-Side Clubhouse, Holy Angels Home for the Severely Disabled, The Shepherd Center, The Buoniconti Fund, and others.

Keegan has been recognized for his leadership skills by being selcted to serve in various leadership positions including: The Boards of Directors of the Atlanta Bar Association, American Red Cross, U.S.O. Council of Georgia, Atlanta Mental Health Association, Outstanding Atlanta, and The National Center for Paralegal Training.  He is also a member of the Atlanta Lawyers Club, Old Warhorse Lawyers Club, American Bar Association, Georgia Trial Lawyers association, State Bar of Georgia, American Association for Justice, the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, the Business Executives for National Security and he has served as Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Atlanta Justice Center for Dispute Resolution.  He is Chairman for the Hispanic Contractors Association of Georgia and the Atlanta Area Council Latino Advisory Committee for the Boy Scouts of America.  He serves on the the Executive Board for the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  In addition to being a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Keegan is also a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia, and he is admitted to practice in all state and federal Courts in Georgia, the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.

Though his achievements have been many, Keegan is most proud of his three grown children.  His son Kelly is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, a much-decorated naval aviator with the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor in combat, and currently assigned to the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India, with his wife Margaret, and infant son, Robert.  Keegan’s daughter Megan has achieved hard-won independence, overcoming great obstacles in recovery from her accident.  She graduated from Georgia State University, served on the staff of Senator Max Cleland and as a Deputy Clerk State Court of DeKalb County.  Keegan’s youngest daughter, Cameron Cook, graduated from the University of Georgia, is married to Russell Dallas Cook, and together they have a successful Americana band, The Little Country Giants; they reside on a farm in northwest Georgia with daughter, Frankie Lee and son, Asa Jacob.