Kennedys Law

Kennedys Law LLP

Headquarters	London, EC3 United Kingdom
No. of offices	37[1]
No. of employees	2750
Major practice areas	Insurance and reinsurance, litigation, healthcare, maritime and international trade, employment, banking and finance, insolvency and corporate recovery, real estate, contracts
Key people	Nick Thomas (Senior Partner) Meg Catalano (Global Managing Partner) Matt Andrews (APAC Regional Managing Partner) John Bruce (Partner) Eric Hiller (US Regional Managing Partner)
Revenue	£384 million (2023/24)[2]
Date founded	1899 (London)
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	www.kennedyslaw.com

Kennedys Law LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London. The firm merged with American law firm Carroll McNulty & Kull (CMK) in 2017.^[3]

Kennedys claims specialisms in "insurance and reinsurance, aviation, banking and finance, construction and engineering, healthcare, life sciences, marine, public sector, rail, real estate, retail, shipping and international trade, sport and leisure, transport and logistics and travel and tourism".^[4]

In 2023/24, the firm's global revenue was £384 million (US $483 million).^[5] The firm announced in November 2024 that Meg Catalano had been appointed Global Managing Partner and Eric Hiller would be replacing her as US managing partner.^[6]

On 18 December 2024 Kennedys announced that John Bruce would be the firm's next Senior Partner replacing Nick Thomas who had been in that role for 27 years. John was appointed following a formal election process amongst the firm’s 349 Partners globally. He takes on the role having previously led the firm’s global Financial Lines practice, and is a member of the firm’s Executive Group. ^[7]

Founder Charles Kennedy was part of several partnerships: Kennedy, Danvers & Co; C. Frederick Kennedy & Co; Kennedy Lindo & Co; and Kennedy Genese & Co.

• 1996: Opened Belfast office
• 2008: Merged with Davies Lavery,^[8] acquiring offices in Birmingham and Maidstone
• 2010: Established the Miami office^[9]
• 2013: Merged with aviation specialist firm Gates and Partners,^[10] adding 70 employees and a Brussels office
• 2015: Formed a joint law venture with Legal Solutions LLC in Singapore,
• 2016: Merged with Danish firm Advokatfirmaet Erritzøe,^[11] acquiring a Copenhagen office
• 2016: Merged with marine and shipping law firm Waltons & Morse^[12]
• 2017: Merged with US insurance law firm Carroll McNulty & Kull (CMK)^[3]
• 2017: Merged with commercial disputes firm berg^[13]
• 2018: Formed an association with Israeli insurance law firm Zelichov, Ben-Dan & Co,^[14] opening of an office in Israel.

Between 2017-2023, Kennedys opened offices in Mexico City, Melbourne, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Paris, Bermuda, Bristol, San Francisco, Israel, Oman, Perth, Leeds, Wilmington, Brisbane, Houston, Newcastle and Fort Lauderdale.

In 2019, Suzanne Liversidge was appointed as Kennedys' first global managing partner.^[15]

From 2020 to 2023, Kennedys formed associations with:

• Dolden Wallace Folick LLP in Canada^[16]
• Baysal & Demir in Turkey^[17]
• Lopez del Solar in Bolivia^[18]
• Tobar ZVS in Ecuador^[18]
• PALM Legal in Portugal
• Next Advokater in Sweden
• AZ Cardoso Advogados (AZC) in Brazil

In December 2024 the firm was recognised by Law360 as having achieved 13th place, out of 50 firms in total, for their global network and ranking 16th for their global bench strength.^[19] The firm's global footprint went from strength to strength in 2024, with the addition of three new offices in the United States, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle and Los Angeles, as well as expansion in New Zealand.

2024

• Claims Team of the Year at the British Claims Awards 2024
• Best Law Firm for Partner Approachability by Legal Cheek
• Cyber Law Firm of the Year at Cyber Insurance Europe Awards and Intelligent Insurer Cyber Insurance Europe Awards 2024

2023

• Technology Partner of the Year - Claims (Insurance Times Tech and Innovation Awards)^[20]
• Impact Case of the Year (LMG Life Sciences Awards EMEA) for Hastings v Finsbury Orthopaedics Ltd and Stryker LTD 2022 case
• Cyber Risk Lawyer of the Year (Zywave Cyber Risk Awards Gala) for Judy Selby ^[21]
• Technology Partner of the Year Bronze winner (Insurance Times Tech and Innovation Awards)^[22]

1. ^ "Our offices".
2. ^ "US and UK growth drive 17% increase in Kennedys' revenue".
3. ^ ^{a b} "Kennedys complete merger with US insurance firm Carroll McNulty & Kull". Legal Business. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
4. ^ "About us". Kennedys Law. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
5. ^ "US and UK growth drive 17% increase in Kennedys' revenue". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
6. ^ https://kennedyslaw.com/en/news/2024/kennedys-announces-new-global-managing-partner-and-new-regional-leadership/
7. ^ https://www.globallegalpost.com/news/kennedys-elects-successor-to-longstanding-senior-partner-thomas-1313850302/
8. ^ Walkinshaw2008-06-25T00:00:00+01:00, Danny. "Kennedys and Davies merge". Insurance Times. Retrieved 2024-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
9. ^ 2010-09-24T08:44:00+01:00. "Kennedys open Miami office". Insurance Times. Retrieved 2024-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
10. ^ "Kennedys seals tie-up with Gates and Partners in aviation sector shake up". Legal Business. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
11. ^ Fouzder2015-12-09T16:11:00+00:00, Monidipa. "Kennedys strengthens Scandinavian presence". Law Gazette. Retrieved 2024-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. ^ "Kennedys and Waltons & Morse complete merger". www.insurancebusinessmag.com. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
13. ^ Walters2017-09-01T09:10:00+01:00, Max. "Manchester firm berg to disappear after Kennedys deal". Law Gazette. Retrieved 2024-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. ^ "Kennedys announces association with Israeli firm Zelichov, Ben-Dan & Co". Irish Legal News. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
15. ^ "Kennedys Appoints Woman As First Global Managing Partner". Law.com International. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
16. ^ "Kennedys singles out Dolden Wallace Folick LLP for its first association in the country". www.insurancebusinessmag.com. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
17. ^ Townley, Suzanne (2021-09-10). "Turkish alliances". Solicitors Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
18. ^ ^{a b} "Kennedys makes new ties in Bolivia and Ecuador". latinlawyer.com. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
19. ^ https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2261573/
20. ^ "Winners". Tech & Innovation Awards 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
21. ^ alarsen (2023-06-16). "Zywave Announces 2023 Cyber Risk Award Winners". Zywave. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
22. ^ Ruel2023-09-22T06:00:00+01:00, Clare. "Revealed: Who won at the Tech and Innovation Awards 2023?". Insurance Times. Retrieved 2024-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)