News Release - 13-15CRAIG KEATS APPOINTED GENERAL COUNSEL


SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF CRAIG KEATS AS GENERAL COUNSEL

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III announced that Craig M. Keats has been named the agency's General Counsel, effective today. Mr. Keats replaces the Board's former General Counsel, Raymond A. Atkins, who has returned to private law practice. The General Counsel's Office provides legal advice to the Board and defends Board actions in court, usually in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Mr. Keats is a long-time employee of the Board and its predecessor agency, the former Interstate Commerce Commission. Among the many positions he has held at the Board and the ICC, Mr. Keats has staffed several agency Members and Chairmen from both political parties. He has been with the Board's Office of the General Counsel since 1980, serving as Deputy General Counsel since 2000. He has briefed and argued many of the agency's highest-profile cases. Mr. Keats earned a law degree from Boston University and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. He enjoys biking, tennis, and entertaining his granddaughter and his dogs. He lives in Arlington, Virginia. ###