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In
that story Paul told me how he ended up being one
of the first attorneys in the world to
specialize in domain related cases. It all
started in 2003 when we was actually
considering getting out of law all
together. "That's when an old client, who
also happened to have extensive domain
interests, called and asked me to hang out a new
shingle and represent him in domain
matters," Paul said. "I told him I
would not start a law firm for one client.
His response was "well, how many clients
do you need?" I told him 20.
Within 60 days he
had 20 domainers call
me for work! He then proudly called and asked
if I had enough for a law firm now and here
I am!," Paul laughed. Countless
domain investors would likely have been much
poorer on both financial and personal levels
if Keating had gone in a different
direction. |
Keating
speaking at the 2013
Domaining Spain conference in Valencia |
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Paul
in 2006 - just 3 years into his
domain law career but he had already
been an attorney for 23 years. |
Paul's
change of a heart was not really surprising
though because getting into law was never in
his plans in the first place. "I was a
competitive swimmer and spent six hours a day
in the pool between the ages of 16 and
21," Paul said. "I swam with the
likes of Olympian Rick
Dumont but my goals were
shut down by Jimmy
Carter’s Olympic
boycott."
The only thing
Paul seemed to like as much as swimming was arguing
with teachers. "I was having constant
debates with a social science teacher and he
got so exasperated from those arguments that
he told me I should go to law school, so I
did!" Keating enrolled at the University
of San Francisco where
he graduated in 1980, then stayed over to
attend USF's law school, where he earned
his law degree in 1983. |
Paul
traveled the world throughout the legal and
entrepreneurial career that followed. The same year
he became a domain attorney, 2003, he moved to Spain
where his wife Victoria, also an attorney,
was from. They had met five years earlier when she
came to San Francisco to study English and the U.S.
legal system. While he was an American living
in Europe (as well as London for a few years),
Paul's client list quickly stretched beyond both
continents, located as far away as Africa,
Australia, the Philippines and Turkey. Meanwhile,
Paul's persuasive arguments in UDRP
cases played an instrumental role in transforming
the process from a deck stacked against domain
owners into one that immensely strengthened their
rights and prevented the loss of invaluable assets
over the past 20 years. For details on that, a
Memoriam for Paul written by his friend and fellow
attorney, ICA General Counsel Zak
Muscovitch, posted by Gina Aubrey on the Internet
Commerce Association blog, is a must
read.
With
so many friends around the world, the news of Paul's
passing will be reaching people at different times
as they wake up across the various time zones.
However, the reaction will be the same - sad to hear
another one of the great ones is gone but thankful
to have been among the lucky few that crossed paths
with Paul Keating while he was here. Rest in
Peace old friend.
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