Keir was elected as Labour MP for Holborn & St Pancras in May 2015. In October 2016, he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet, taking up the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU. Prior to becoming an MP, Keir was a human rights lawyer. He co-founded Doughty Street Chambers in 1990, and conducted cases in a wide range of international courts, including the European Court of Human Rights. Keir also worked to help eradicate the death penalty in a number of countries and continues to work closely on a voluntary basis with the Death Penalty Project.