Built on mentorship. Grounded in service. Driven by growth.
COMMUNITY
How We Show Up Beyond the Courtroom
At Shaw Keller, we believe that serving the community strengthens our ability to serve our clients. Through pro bono advocacy, mentorship, and deep engagement with the legal system, our attorneys build the experience, judgment, and confidence that make a difference when the stakes are high. We don’t just talk about community, we serve it with the same care and strategy we bring to all of our clients.
Why It Matters
We engage with our community not just because it’s right — but because it builds better advocates. Every opportunity to mentor, volunteer, or step into the courtroom sharpens the judgment our clients rely on.
Pro Bono in Practice
Our pro bono work reflects the same strategic approach we bring to client matters. Whether it’s asylum, civil rights, or nonprofit advocacy, our attorneys take ownership and bring results - often gaining critical courtroom experience in the process.
Mentorship in Action
Mentorship at Shaw Keller isn’t a box to check — it’s how we work. Partners lead by example, giving associates real responsibility and thoughtful guidance early on. The result is confident, courtroom-ready attorneys who know how to think, speak, and lead.
Deep Roots in Delaware
Our attorneys have clerked for judges in state and federal courts, and many continue to serve on court advisory groups and bar committees. That perspective doesn’t just shape our approach, it sharpens our strategy in every courtroom we enter.
Putting Our Values to Work
The following case highlights show how our commitment to service, mentorship, and advocacy delivers lasting change — for our clients, and for the broader community.
Plaintiff v. Delaware Department
of
Corrections
John Shaw led a team representing a woman who had been raped by a corrections officer in the only Delaware prison to house women offenders. After uncovering evidence of multiple sexual assaults by corrections officers and a culture of retaliation against persons speaking out against prison rape, John and his team detailed the prison’s failings in a 300-paragraph amended complaint.
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The Delaware Department of Corrections then settled the case, agreeing to sweeping structural changes in the prison environment in a 20-page, single-spaced consent agreement to prevent future rapes in the prison, and a substantial monetary settlement for the client.
American veterans are often denied benefits by the Veteran’s Benefits Administration and are without representation when they appeal those decisions to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
John Shaw coordinated bringing the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program to Delaware to train attorneys interested in helping veterans in need of assistance. John, Karen Keller, and Andrew Russell have successfully helped veterans in their appeals and in securing the benefits to which they are entitled under the law.
Veterans'
Appeals
Women and Children in Need
The attorneys of Shaw Keller cooperate with Delaware legal service providers to provide counsel to underserved women and children. We take appointments as guardians ad litem from the Delaware Family Court to represent the best interests of at-risk children embroiled in custody disputes, actions for termination of parental rights, and other judicial proceedings. The relationships formed in these matters often evolve into long-term mentoring relationships.
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We also represent women in divorce, custody, and Protection from Abuse proceedings in the Delaware Family Court. In one notable case, Karen Keller successfully secured sole custody of a thirteen-year-old daughter for the mother, a difficult result under Delaware law in even the worst of circumstances.
Following an appointment by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, John Shaw and Karen Keller led a team that won a jury trial against a state police officer who violated the Equal Protection rights of an African-American male. The client was arrested after an altercation with two other men but was charged with different, more serious crimes than the other participants.
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The jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages, although the district court then overturned the verdict. Undaunted, Karen reinstated the verdict following an appeal and argument to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
