Biography

Wayne Joseph Keeley (born 1956) is an American practicing attorney, author, professor, producer and director. He has produced, written, and directed documentaries, commercials and educational programs, in addition to screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays. Wayne J. Keeley was born in Yonkers, New York. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham College in 1978. He was awarded a St. Thomas More Scholarship to St. John's School of Law. Keeley graduated from St. John's School of Law with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1981. Keeley received a Masters of Laws (LL.M) from New York University School of Law in 1990.

Keeley began his legal career as an Associate Attorney at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker from 1980 to 1985. Keeley litigated cases at the trial and appellate level. Most notably, Keeley successfully defended a medical malpractice case at the Court of Appeals of New York in Innis v. State of New York et al., 60 N.Y.2d 653, 467 N.Y.S.2d 830, 455 N.E.2d 483 (1983). He is admitted to practice law before the courts of New York State, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States.

In 2000, Keeley joined the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. He was the Assistant Director of Development at NAD until 2007 and authored over 100 NAD decisions published in the NAD/CARU Case Reports.

In 2007, Keeley was appointed the director of the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. In 2008, he was made a vice president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

Keeley began his film career in 1985 at Bennu Productions where he wrote, produced and directed educational films, documentaries, commercials and music videos in addition to serving as general counsel and vice president. He won many awards for his productions including two Emmy Awards for Public Service Announcements. In 1998, Keeley moved to Arrow Entertainment where he wrote and produced Nosferatu - The First Vampire.Keeley's documentary, 10th Gear Jettride: 3800 Miles to a Cure, won Best Feature Documentary at the 2009 Hollywood East Film Festival. The film documents the journey of 25 teen cyclists who rode 3800 miles across America to raise money for those children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Keeley has also taught law and communications at Baruch College, Bronx Community College, Fordham College, Audrey Cohen College and Western Connecticut State University.