Assistant Counsel

Adam Keats

Licensed to practice in all courts in California, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, Adam Keats is one of the country’s most experienced and effective litigators in environmental law. His areas of expertise include land use, endangered species protection, civil rights, and most particularly, water policy and the public trust doctrine. He currently is representing C-WIN and a coalition of public interest groups in fighting the Delta Tunnel, the environmentally destructive and economically inequitable water conveyance project promoted by the Newsom administration.

Adam is a 1997 graduate of the University of California, Davis School of Law. He was recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and was a recipient of a Delta Advocate Award from Restore the Delta in 2019. He was named a California Lawyer of the year by California Lawyer Magazine and the Daily Journal in 2016.

As a dedicated environmentalist and civil rights advocate, Adam pursues a straightforward goal in his practice.

“I work to break the stranglehold that big corporations, the wealthy, and the powerful have on our government, our legal institutions, and our economy,” Adam says. “[My colleagues and I] file lawsuits that force government agencies to be honest, fair, and transparent, and that give voice to those too often cut out of the discussion.”

Adam cites the Twin Tunnels project –an antecedent to the Delta Tunnel also known as the California WaterFix – as a prime example of the power of skilled and aggressive litigation.

“This scheme was promoted by Governor Jerry Brown during his second term in office,” Adam observes. “Through our lawsuit, we were able to demonstrate its deeply negative impacts to both ratepayers and the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta ecosystem. Ultimately, the administration realized it was a lost cause, and they walked away from it.”

Adam thinks the Delta Tunnel project might well resolve in a similar fashion, with the Newsom administration abandoning it.

“Or it could go the other way,” he says, “and I’m confident we’ll win in court if it does, given it has the same flaws as its predecessor.”

Adam lives in the Bay Area and enjoys a variety of outdoor activities in his spare time, including cycling and kayaking.