The American Lawyer has named Keker, Van Nest & Peters Managing Partner Laurie Carr Mims a finalist for its Attorney of the Year award, highlighting her leadership in navigating the Trump administration’s attacks on the legal industry.
In her profile, Mims describes what it was like to lead the firm during President Trump’s unprecedented string of executive orders targeting law firms and threatening to cancel their security clearances and access to federal buildings.
“Right away, we were vocal about supporting the law firms that were willing to fight," she said. “It was just very clear to us from the beginning that the right thing to do would be to speak out against this, and that silence wasn't an option.”
The firm signed onto an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie in its lawsuit against Trump’s order, and issued internal and external statements affirming that Keker would fight for the rule of law and lawyers’ professional independence.
Mims, who joined the firm as a partner in 2005 and became managing partner in 2023, has since overseen a period of growth and modernization, devoting more resources to the firm’s finance department and expanding staff and the number of attorneys at the firm. She also continues to represent clients in contract disputes, securities and shareholder suits for predominantly biotechnology clients.
One of her recent cases is adverse to the Trump administration. It involves efforts to keep the IRS and Social Security Administration from sharing sensitive private data with ICE.
“We were able to get through a FOIA request that shows the SSA has agreed to give 50,000 names and contact information to ICE per month,” she said.
Read her profile in The American Lawyer here. (subscription required)
Reprinted with permission from the November 7, 2025, edition of the LAW.COM © 2026 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com.
