Photo of Keisha-Ann Gray

Keisha-Ann G. Gray is a distinguished first-chair trial lawyer and litigator with a proven track record of securing significant victories in federal and state courts, including jury trials, for organizations facing high-stakes, reputational-risk claims. She is a member of the Firm’s seven-person Executive Committee, an award-winning partner in Proskauer’s Labor & Employment department, co-chair of the Workplace Investigations practice group, co-chair of the Employment Trial practice group, and a leader of the department’s DEI Compliance Group.

With over 25 years of experience, Keisha-Ann is the go-to advisor when navigating issues related to discrimination, harassment, and DEI risk prevention. Her “real talk” approach provides clients with practical, actionable business-related solutions to today’s most complex workplace challenges.

 

Before joining Proskauer, Keisha-Ann served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and as a federal law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The breadth of her experience and background in federal government coupled with her tenure in private practice as a Big Law partner and employment litigator gives her the unique ability to meaningfully connect with diverse groups. This quality enables her to advocate effectively both in and out of the courtroom for her clients. As a result, Keisha-Ann is also frequently called upon to conduct high-profile investigations.

Because of her unique and varied skill set, clients routinely engage Keisha-Ann to personally handle their most sensitive matters which, due to her involvement, often result in non-public, confidential resolutions – preciously the mandate of many of her clients. However, when litigation is unavoidable, her courtroom skills are widely recognized — so much so that the effectiveness of her cross-examinations has been reported in the press — a fact that underscores her formidable skill at trial.

Keisha-Ann enjoys giving back to the community and profession by serving on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary and the Magistrate Judge Selection Panel for the Eastern District of New York. She also sits on the Board of the Federal Bar Council and the Eastern District Association. In addition, she co-chairs the Federal Bar Council’s Employment Litigation Committee and actively mentors junior attorneys.

As we previously reported, on March 3, 2025, the Maryland District Court denied Defendants’ motion to stay the preliminary injunction in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, preventing the federal government from enforcing several DEI-related clauses in its recent Executive Orders. The court held that the Government had not

Last Updated: 3/5/2025

On February 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction pausing enforcement of several provisions of President Trump’s DEI-related executive orders on Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing (“EO 14151”) and Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (“EO 14173”).

Notably, the

On Monday, January 27, 2025, President Trump removed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC” or the “Commission”) commissioners Charlotte A. Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, the two confirmed in separate statements.  The move, which may face legal challenges, marks the first time that a president has removed an EEOC commissioner without cause prior to the expiration

In his inaugural address on Monday, January 20, 2025, President Trump declared, “We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.”  In the days that followed, President Trump has proceeded to issue a series of executive orders in quick succession, many of which specifically seek to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives in