About Nicholas Chaddsford
Nicholas Chaddsford Keats built his legal foundation at the University of California system. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2012 and completed his Juris Doctor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco in 2017. Those years included research roles that tied theory to workplace law and policy.
After law school, Keats moved into public-sector civil rights work. He spent 2018 as a Civil Rights Fellow at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, where he assisted on investigations and administrative matters related to employment discrimination. The following year he took a staff counsel position at the California Civil Rights Department, joining the agency as it handled an expanding portfolio of state civil rights enforcement. He continues at the department and has worked on cases that require movement between investigation, negotiation and administrative hearings.
Keats’s earlier roles reveal an interest in research and the intersection of law and workplace dynamics. He served as a Graduate Research Fellow at the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings in 2017 and worked as a Research Assistant at UC Hastings in 2015. Those positions supported empirical and policy-oriented projects that inform how employers and regulators respond to discrimination, harassment and accommodation issues. He also spent a summer in private practice as a 2016 Summer Associate at Fox Rothschild LLP, gaining experience in firm-based litigation and client counseling.
The arc of Keats’s career has been steady: academic study followed by research-driven fellowships, then practical roles inside state enforcement agencies. His professional work centers on civil rights enforcement, workplace discrimination claims, and administrative law procedures. Colleagues describe him as thorough and exacting in preparation for hearings and investigations, and he has handled matters that require translating legal standards into concrete investigatory steps.
Outside of casework, Keats has engaged in projects that explore employer compliance and systemic remedies. His research background informs his approach to investigations and rulemaking work, helping to shape recommendations that are rooted in evidence rather than theory alone. He maintains membership in the California bar and practices under state jurisdiction.
He currently practices at the California Civil Rights Department, where he handles enforcement of state civil rights laws and public-sector employment matters.
