Overview

Keith P. Carroll is a trial attorney in Holland & Knight's Boston office and is the co-chair of the firm's Sports Industry Team. Mr. Carroll works with public, private and closely held companies, senior executives and boards across many industries. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and closely held company business disputes. He also regularly advises prominent professional sports leagues, franchises, senior executives and athletes with regard to internal investigations, business disputes, and other sensitive and high-profile matters.

Mr. Carroll is an experienced and recognized trial counsel with more than 20 matters taken to verdict, decision or award in numerous state and federal courts and arbitration forums. Mr. Carroll is ranked in Chambers USA, where clients have cited his "outstanding professionalism" and noted that "he offers good practical advice." He has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Benchmark Litigation for his litigation skills and by the Sports Business Journal as a Power Player Outside Counsel. Mr. Carroll has conducted numerous internal investigations for professional sports leagues and teams and has successfully represented multiple clients in investigations conducted by Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). He has also successfully represented clients in multiple sports-related arbitrations, including National Basketball Association (NBA) and NHL-related business disputes, and a disciplinary appeal before the NBPA. The complex cases he has handled cover a wide range of subjects, including commercial contract disputes, antitrust claims, fiduciary duties, intellectual property, corporate governance, negligence, healthcare and life sciences, class actions, eminent domain, insurance coverage and bad faith disputes, and sports industry disputes and investigations. He has also argued appeals in multiple state and federal jurisdictions, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Second Circuit.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Carroll served as a law clerk to the Honorable Christopher F. Droney in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. During law school, he was articles editor and member of the editorial board for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Carroll was co-chair of the sports and entertainment practice for a large U.S. law firm in its Boston office.

Representative Experience

  • Lead counsel for a professional sports league in commercial contract lawsuit pending in Texas state court
  • Conducted an internal investigation for and advised a professional sports league with regard to player misconduct issues on and off the field
  • Represented the manager and other team employees with regard to a Major League Baseball (MLB) investigation into allegations of illegal use of electronic equipment during 2018 and 2019 to steal opposing pitchers' signs during games; investigation concluded with finding of no illegal activity and no additional discipline for the manager based on his work in 2018-2019
  • Represented and advised MLB organization since 2018 on a variety of confidential internal and external matters
  • Trial counsel for a National Basketball Association (NBA) player agent accused of violating the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) code of conduct and faced decertification as an agent; arbitration award resulted in dismissal of charges and full exoneration of client
  • Represented a National Hockey League (NHL) club in breach of contract dispute with minor league affiliate
  • Represented an NHL senior team executive in a business dispute with an organization and NHL investigation
  • Lead trial counsel for a large privately owned international sports and entertainment company, which owns multiple top-tier professional sports teams in NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer (MLS) in commercial contract litigation regarding management of sports arena; obtained complete trial victory and determination of no liability for client
  • Served as lead trial counsel for an elite professional athlete and U.S. Olympian in a breach of contract arbitration
  • Advised an NHL hockey club on a regulatory and disciplinary matter related to a player contract signed during lockout
  • Represents several high-profile athletes and retired athletes with regard to their off-field business transactions and media contracts

  • Lead counsel for a closely held manufacturing company and its founder/majority shareholder in corporate governance and freeze-out litigation with family-member shareholder and former company CEO; after successfully advising client to enforce the terms of the shareholder agreement to allow client to repurchase shares from one minority shareholder, client was able to settle with the former CEO on highly favorable terms for the client on the eve of trial in 2021
  • Lead counsel for information technology (IT) infrastructure firm in breach of contract lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina involving the technology buildout for a national consumer services franchise involving more than 1,000 locations nationwide; successfully dismissed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) counterclaim and settled the case on client-favorable terms prior to trial in 2020
  • Lead counsel for an international travel and real estate rental business in a regulatory enforcement matter before the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure; obtained complete victory for the client at summary judgment in 2021
  • Trial counsel for a storied video codec company that was founded in San Diego in 2000 as complainant at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) enforcing patents relating to internet video and streaming media against several large company defendants; several weeks before the USITC hearing, two of the parties settled all matters on client-favorable terms and another was terminated from the investigation, leaving one remaining respondent/defendant; the trial went forward in July 2021 and the remainder of the investigation was terminated following a client-favorable settlement in fall 2021
  • Lead counsel for a New England labor union in defense against antitrust and labor claims asserted by competing labor unions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; successfully obtained summary judgment in clients' favor and successfully upheld the victory after oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • Lead trial counsel for a personal creditor in a breach of oral contract claim brought against a debtor in Massachusetts Superior Court in 2019; jury returned a verdict for the full amount of the debt owed and judgment entered for that amount plus interest; also successfully represented the same client before the Appeals Court, which issued a decision affirming the trial court judgment in all respects
  • Lead counsel for a Milwaukee-based manufacturing company in defense of a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California; successfully argued and convinced the court to dismiss the plaintiff's Lanham Act and unfair trade practices claims, and successfully briefed and won an objection to the plaintiff's motion; the remaining patent claims were resolved heavily in the client's favor after favorable claims construction ruling from the court
  • Lead counsel for the trustee for the holders of $189 million worth of industrial development revenue bonds in an adversary proceeding in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas involving multimillion-dollar claims of fraud and equitable subordination brought by a creditor of the development project debtor; case was resolved favorably for the client in context of bankruptcy
  • Lead trial counsel for a San Francisco-based life sciences company in defense of a commercial contract dispute with a supplier of essential supplies in Maryland state court; successfully knocked out plaintiffs' $170 million damages claim
  • Lead trial counsel for a multinational insurance company defending against bad faith claims brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by another insurance company; obtained a complete victory for client after two-week bench trial
  • Lead trial counsel in a Massachusetts Superior Court for iconic, family-owned Boston restaurant business that was forced into bankruptcy and eventually closed as a result of the Big Dig construction project; after a three-week trial, the jury awarded the full measure of clients' requested damages, which was among the top jury verdicts in 2015 in Massachusetts
  • Served as lead trial counsel for a well-known public company in a corporate governance, breach of fiduciary duty and contract dispute against former company officers; case was settled on client-favorable terms following jury selection
  • Represented a national healthcare services company following a $125 million acquisition in post-transaction litigation brought by the seller in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and obtained a favorable summary judgment and an award of full attorney's fees for client
  • Successfully defended the same national healthcare services company in several business disputes, including as lead trial counsel in trial victory against claims brought by a commercial services provider
  • Successfully defended a municipal police department and police commission against reverse race discrimination claims brought by a police officer and obtained judgment in his clients' favor following a one-week bench trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

Credentials

Education
  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D.
  • Georgetown University, B.A., Government
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • Connecticut
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships
  • Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, Past Chairman; Board Member
  • Georgetown University Law Center, Law Alumni Board Member
  • The BASE (Boston-based urban baseball and education-focused youth organization), Board Member
  • Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston Advisory Board Member
  • Foundation To Be Named Later, Board Member
  • University of Massachusetts Boston, Sports Leadership and Administration Program, Advisory Board Member
  • The Sports Lawyers Association (SLA)
  • American Bar Association
  • Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Boston Bar Association
Honors & Awards
  • Boston Magazine, Top Lawyer, Sports Law, 2022-2023
  • Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Sports Law, 2022, 2023
  • The Best Lawyers in America guide, Commercial Litigation, 2021-2023
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, Business Litigation, 2013-2023
  • Benchmark Litigation, Litigation Star, 2020-2023
  • Sports Business Journal, Power Players: Outside Counsel, 2021
  • Top Verdict, Top Ten Verdicts in Massachusetts, 2015

Publications

Speaking Engagements

News