Boswell, H. James.  American Blue Book Western Washington, Seattle, Lowman and  
Hanford Co., 1922.  p. 190.

WALTER A. KEENE, of Seattle is a lawyer of marked natural ability..  With it 
all, however, he is a hard student and is never contented until he has 
mastered every detail of the cases handled by him.  He believes strongly in 
the maxim, "there is no excellence without labor," and follows this idea 
closely.  While in court he is never surprised at some unexpected discovery by 
the opposition, for in his mind he weighs every point and fortifies himself as 
well for defense as for attack.  He is not an orator to the extent of swaying 
juries by his eloquence, but there are few lawyers who win a larger percentage 
of their cases before either judge or jury than does Mr. Keene.  Mr. Keene, 
who convinces by his concise statements of law and facts, rather than by work 
painting, seldom has his assertions in court questioned seriously.  In the 
conduct of a case he enjoys the confidence and good will of colleagues and 
contemporaries.  Mr. Keene is a native of Wisconsin and was born in 1866.  His 
early educational training was had in public schools.  It was from the 
University of Wisconsin that he took his LL. B. degree in 1889, and the year 
following located in Seattle, where he has since resided.  Mr. Keene was a 
member of the firm of Martin, Joslyn & Keene, which was dissolved in 1904, and 
since that time has practiced individually.  In 1916 Mr. Keene married Miss 
Mildred Yockey.  He is a member of the Masons and the Seattle, Washington 
State, and American bar associations.

Submitted by: Judy Bivens

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Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies
Project.  Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the
individual featured in the biographies.