Samuel (“Skip”) A. Keesal, Jr., was born in Chicago, Illinois and was raised on a ranch in Tucson, Arizona. He served in the United States Army and attended the University of Arizona and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Skip graduated from CSULB in 1962 with a B.S. degree in business. In 1965 he received an LL.B. from the University of Southern California (USC) Law School. Admitted to the bar, he worked for the law firm of Lillick, McHose & Charles for four years, and for Pollack, Palmer & Metzler for one year. After five years of practice with two firms primarily handling trial work, Skip founded the law firm of Keesal, Young & Logan in 1970. The firm, which has grown to 80 attorneys with offices in Long Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, Anchorage and Hong Kong, has developed expertise in many specialties of civil litigation including class and mass actions, securities and banking litigation, mortgage litigation, employment, energy, environmental, admiralty and maritime, bankruptcy, business litigation, products liability, real estate, toxic tort, professional malpractice defense, professional design & construction, all types of civil appeals, mortgage banking, real estate, corporate/transactional and other commercial matters.