{{Short description|American attorney (born 1975)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Duane A. Kees | image = Duane Kees official photo.jpg | office1 = United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas | president1 = Donald Trump | term_start1 = January 5, 2018 | term_end1 = January 17, 2020 | predecessor1 = Conner Eldridge | successor1 = David Clay Fowlkes {{small|(Acting)}} | birth_name = Duane Adkins Kees | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}} | birth_place = Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. | death_place = | party = | spouse = | relations = | children = | education = University of Arkansas (BA, JD) | awards = | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | branch = {{flag|United States Army}} | service_years = 2000 – 2008 | rank = | unit = Judge Advocate General's Corps | commands = }}
'''Duane Adkins ("Dak") Kees'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191120171521/https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20190816697 UNITED STATES v. 0.028 ACRES OF LAND]</ref> (born 1975) is an American attorney and former United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. He has also served as director of global ethics and compliance at Walmart and as chief counsel for global investigations and regulatory compliance at Tyson Foods.
== Early life and education ==
He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arkansas and his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law.<ref name="President Donald J. Trump Anno...">{{Cite news |date=September 22, 2017 |title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventh Wave of United States Attorney Nominations |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-seventh-wave-united-states-attorney-nominations/ |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=December 17, 2017}}{{PD-notice}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Brantley|first1=Max|title=Walmart lawyer picked for U.S. attorney in western Arkansas |url=https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/09/22/walmart-lawyer-picked-for-us-attorney-in-western-arkansas|access-date=December 17, 2017|publisher=Arkansas Times|date=September 22, 2017}}</ref>
== Career ==
=== Military service === Kees attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia and entered the U.S. Army JAG Corps. he served in the JAG Corps for eight years. During his time on active duty, he prosecuted and defended a variety of complex cases and earned two Bronze Stars and a Meritorious Service Medal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump nominates Duane "Dak" Kees for U.S. Attorney for Western District of Arkansas |url=https://talkbusiness.net/2017/09/duane-dak-kees-nominated-for-u-s-attorney-for-western-district-of-arkansas/|access-date=December 17, 2017|publisher=Talk Business & Politics}}</ref> He is currently a major in the Arkansas National Guard. Kees was previously a partner at the Asa Hutchinson Law Group.
=== United States Attorney === On September 22, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Kees to be the United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.<ref name="President Donald J. Trump Anno..." /> On December 20, 2017, his nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-20 |title=PN1051 - Nomination of Duane A. Kees for Department of Justice, 115th Congress (2017-2018) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/115th-congress/1051 |access-date=2020-08-27 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref> He was sworn into office on January 5, 2018.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Duane (DAK) Kees Takes Office As United States Attorney For The Western District Of Arkansas |date=January 5, 2018 |location=Fort Smith, Arkansas |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdar/pr/duane-dak-kees-takes-office-united-states-attorney-western-district-arkansas |access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> He resigned on January 17, 2020, to return to the private sector.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kark.com/news/local-news/u-s-attorney-duane-kees-announces-resignation/ |title=U.S. Attorney Duane Kees announces resignation |date=January 13, 2020 |website=KARK |language=en-US |access-date=February 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/3ae52a1ed4a50b4921a4a7b1369d8b95 |title=Federal prosecutor in Arkansas resigning for private sector |date=January 13, 2020 |website=AP NEWS |access-date=February 1, 2020}}</ref> It later emerged that Kees resigned while being investigated by the Department of Justice for an improper intimate relationship with a subordinate, which Kees began shortly after being sworn in as US Attorney and which lasted approximately seven months.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeMillo |first=Andrew |date=2024-05-16 |title=Federal prosecutor in Arkansas stepped down while being investigated, report says |url=https://apnews.com/article/duane-kees-arkansas-prosecutor-ethics-relationship-investigation-1e91980e94fa6a01d0aa01495c115ff5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516232000/https://apnews.com/article/duane-kees-arkansas-prosecutor-ethics-relationship-investigation-1e91980e94fa6a01d0aa01495c115ff5 |archive-date=2024-05-16 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Musgrave |first=Shawn |date=2024-05-14 |title=This U.S. Attorney Resigned Amid an Ethics Investigation. Yet He Wound Up Overseeing Judges' Ethics. |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/05/14/arkansas-us-attorney-dak-kees-ethics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515032348/https://theintercept.com/2024/05/14/arkansas-us-attorney-dak-kees-ethics/ |archive-date=2024-05-15 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission === In June 2023, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin appointed Kees to the state's Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, an agency that investigates judges for violations of the state's judicial code of conduct.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gelder |first=Austin |date=2024-05-15 |title=Judicial ethics commissioner Dak Kees out amid questions about his own ethics |url=https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2024/05/15/judicial-ethics-commissioner-dak-kees-out-amid-questions-about-his-own-ethics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523015213/https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2024/05/15/judicial-ethics-commissioner-dak-kees-out-amid-questions-about-his-own-ethics |archive-date=2024-05-23 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=Arkansas Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In May 2024, Kees resigned from the commission after an investigative journalist for The Intercept began making inquiries related to a report released by the Department of Justice, alleging that while serving as US Attorney Kees had an improper relationship with a subordinate and tried to block the firing of another employee who had committed "additional acts of misconduct" to try to keep his own misconduct out of the spotlight.<ref name=":0" />
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kees, Duane}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Arkansas lawyers Category:Lawyers from Little Rock, Arkansas Category:University of Arkansas alumni Category:University of Arkansas School of Law alumni Category:Walmart people Category:United States attorneys for the Western District of Arkansas Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni