Ron Kilgard
Partner
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
Honors & Awards
- Best Lawyers in America®, Phoenix, Arizona, 2026 (Recognized since 2013):
- Appellate Practice
- Commercial Litigation
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Litigation - ERISA
- Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, 2018 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (adult cases)
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).
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