Keith Petty
Partner

After a distinguished 20-year military career, Keith Petty joined Jones Pyatt Law in 2023 as a Partner in the firm’s Tax and Real Estate practice areas.

As a former officer in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), Keith brings a breadth of multidisciplinary knowledge and experience to the firm. His litigation experience provides depth to the firm’s real estate tax practice, where he focuses on property tax appeals in Ohio and Maryland. In Ohio, Keith represents clients before county auditors, county boards of revision, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, and the Ohio appellate courts. In Maryland, he represents clients at various stages of the property tax appeal process (tax certiorari). Keith also represents developers in connection with real estate transactions, including acquisitions and financings. Using his experience as an advisor to military leadership, he also provides outside general counsel services to US and international companies.

As a JAG officer, Keith litigated criminal offenses as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, including complex counter-terrorism cases at the Guantánamo Bay Military Commissions. During his military career, Keith also was a trusted advisor to senior leaders in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to help overcome a myriad of sophisticated operational and legal challenges at the executive level. During combat operations and humanitarian missions, Keith led and coordinated cross-functional teams, navigated the U.S. inter-agency process to assess and mitigate risk, negotiated with foreign government officials, and reached strategic level objectives on behalf of clients.

Keith is also an accomplished author and speaker with numerous scholarly publications and invited lectures. He received an LL.M. with distinction in human rights law from Georgetown University Law Center and an LL.M. in military law from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. He earned his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of Case Western’s Journal of International Law. He received his B.A. in English and Germanic Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Keith is licensed to practice law in Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and the U.S. Supreme Court.