Biography

Ken Keechl is a native Floridian who has spent his career protecting the rights and values of the residents of Fort Lauderdale.

Born in October 1962 on the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida’s Panhandle, Ken and his family lived in Texas, California, New Jersey, and Japan before settling down in South Florida in the late 1970s. 

Ken graduated with honors from South Dade High School in 1980, and attended Miami-Dade Community College in the evenings. He received another academic scholarship from Miami-Dade Community College and attended classes there as a freshman as well. As a sophomore, he enrolled at Florida State University where he put himself through school, working an on-campus job supplemented by Pell Grants and scholarships.  He graduated cum laude in 1984 with a BS in History, and repeated that success by graduating cum laude from FSU’s Law School in 1987, where he also served as an editor of the Law Review.  Upon graduation, Ken became a member of the Florida Bar in 1987.

As an attorney, Ken settled in Broward County and began his career at the law firm of Brinkley Morgan et al.  Ken quickly rose through the ranks, from Associate in 1987, to Partner in 1993, and ultimately to Equity Partner in 1996.  Ken helped build the firm’s commercial litigation and land use litigation practices.  While at the firm, he served the residents of the City of Plantation for 14 years as an Assistant City Attorney.  Ken defended the city from developers wanting to take over the Plantation Golf Course to develop high-end housing.  He also represented the City of Wellington.  Ken recently resigned from his firm to focus on the County Commission.

Ken’s community interests connected with his legal practice, as he served on the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Committee of the Florida Bar, focused on civil rights issues, including those facing minorities, the elderly, and the disabled.  He also was a volunteer attorney for Broward Lawyers Care, representing pro bono clients who could not afford legal counsel.   According to the authoritative Martindale-Hubble legal credentialing service, Ken holds an AV rating by his peers (“A”: Very High to Preeminent for Legal Ability; “V”: Very High for Ethical Standards). 

Ken and his partner of eleven years, realtor Ted Adcock, became members of the Coral Ridge Homeowners Association when they moved into that neighborhood in 1998.

Among Ken’s many other community activities, he is a contributor to the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County; a contributor to HOMES, Inc., which focuses on providing workforce housing in Broward County; a member of the Smart Growth Partnership; and a member of the Founders Circle of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida.