Keith Diggs

admitted to practice law in Arizona, California, & Texas.

no air travel | now in Arizona | kdiggs@kdiggs.law

hi! I'm Keith & it's the third year of my final year in public service loan forgiveness ಠ_ಠ

seeking work that won't require air travel, pays decent healthcare, & makes a difference.

email me if your government agency or nonprofit has a job I could do.
I'm experienced in civil rights, environmental, and government law.

résumé (.pdf)

professional experience

City of Austin
(Barton Springs Pool)

open water lifeguard & swim coach
Austin, Texas
2024–2026

rescued 15+ swimmers from drowning, enforced rules, & cared for facilities at Barton Springs Pool.
coached summer youth swim team at Dittmar Neighborhood Pool.
99+% attendance over 380+ scheduled shifts with the Aquatic Division.

Yes In My Back Yard
(YIMBY Law)

attorney
online in California
2022–2024

secured dismissal of a state constitutional (art. 34) challenge to a land acquisition for public housing.
negotiated settlement with City of Cupertino submitting to the Housing Accountability Act “builder’s remedy” (see Cal. Gov. Code § 65589.5(d)(5) [suspending zoning bans on certain housing projects]).
maintained writ proceeding against City of Sausalito for forgoing California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA,” Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 21000 et seq.) review of its general plan’s housing element.

Institute for Justice

attorney
Tempe, Arizona
2015–2022

helped litigate high-impact precedents on civil forfeiture, professional speech, & due process, e.g.:
State v. Johnson (In re $39,500), 521 P.3d 631 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2022) (forfeiture violates due process).
Platt v. Moore, 15 F.4th 895 (9th Cir. 2021) (forfeiture well-pled to violate due process).
Pac. Coast Horseshoeing Sch. v. Kirchmeyer, 961 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2020) (teaching how to shoe a horse protected by the First Amendment).
City of Charlestown v. Charlestown Pleasant Ridge Neighborhood Ass’n, 111 N.E.3d 199 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018) (abusive code enforcement enjoined).
see also Shaw v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville & Davidson County (filed 2017) (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025) (selective ban on serving clients at home violates equal protection).

King & Spalding LLP

project assistant
Atlanta, Georgia
2009–2011

helped manage e-discovery for multidistrict litigation & multiple administrative agency investigations.

Cardinal Hill Swim & Racquet Club

swim coach & lifeguard
Vienna, Virginia
2003–2009, 2011

learned to love working with water.

education

University of Michigan

J.D., cum laude

Ann Arbor, Michigan

2014

Michigan Law Review, executive editor (2013–2014).

Emory University

B.A., politics & music

Atlanta, Georgia

2009

Division III NCAA swimming, co-captain (2008–2009) & national champion (400 IM, 2008).

publications & other
writing samples

Winning Brief in Millbrae v. San Mateo County (2024)

Comment on Sausalito's Draft CEQA EIR (2024)

Research Proposal: The Right to Share a Home (2023)

Arizona State University Law Journal

with Paul Avelar

Economic Liberty and the Arizona Constitution: A Survey of Forgotten History (2017).

Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture

contributor, 2d ed. 2015.

for Institute for Justice

Michigan Law Review

student comment

Tariffication of the Coastwise Trade Laws (2014).

contact

email me

kdiggs@kdiggs.law

Keith Diggs

professional experience

education

publications & other writing samples

contact

publications & other
writing samples