JD Keister has practiced civil and complex litigation at MGC for over two decades. He routinely engages in the representation of parties in construction, professional liability, bad faith, real estate litigation, catastrophic loss, commercial litigation and first party defense for insurance carriers. JD's expansive construction practice includes the representation of contractors, subcontractors, designers, developers and their insurance companies. His professional liability experience includes the regular representation of architects and engineers, attorneys, real estate brokers and agents, insurance brokers and matters that stem from director and officer liability.

JD serves as MGC’s firm-wide Practice Area Leader for Litigation, guiding our talented group of lawyers and legal professionals as they strive to serve our client community through diverse practice areas. He is also known in the insurance industry for his involvement with different litigation management professional associations, including the CLM. JD currently serves as a Dean to CLM’s School of Litigation Management, a Chancellor and Instructor at CLM’s Litigation Management Institute (LMI) and a Chair for the Litigation Management Symposium. He is a former member of the DRI Insurance Roundtable Steering Committee and has held multiple positions with the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, currently serving as President. JD has served on a number of industry panels and internal carrier roundtables, assisting in the design and implementation of systems and processes. He is a regular presenter to national organizations on topics impacting the industry, litigation management and metrics. In 2023, JD was named the CLM Professional of the Year Award winner as Outside Counsel. He was also named to the Business Defense Power List in 2023 by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

JD is married with three children and spends his time traveling with his family, acting as a part-time taxi for his three kids and their activities, cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes and playing below average golf when time allows.