Kennedys promotes three Manchester lawyers to global partnership

Global law firm Kennedys has promoted thirteen lawyers to its partnership, three of whom are based in its Manchester office.

Amanda Beaumont, Oliver Dent and Katherine Totty, who work out of the firm’s Churchgate House office on Oxford Street, join ten other lawyers in this year’s round of partner promotions at Kennedys. The firm’s worldwide partner count is now 264.

In Manchester, those that have been promoted are:

– Amanda Beaumont, an employment specialist who handles a mix of contentious and non-contentious work. She acts for employers and insurers, with experience handling employment tribunals for insurers and their insureds, as well as advising on HR-related aspects of GDPR and data protection. Amanda also supports commercial clients on non-contentious employment-related issues such as drafting policies, HR procedures, employment contracts and settlement agreements. She also advises on restructuring and business change too.
– Oliver Dent, who qualified at Kennedys. He has been instrumental in the development of Kennedys’ UK and global cyber offering and regularly spends time in other offices. His focus is on advising both insurers and corporate entities on data breach response, privacy issues, data subject litigation and cyber related claims and policy coverage.
– Katherine Totty, a specialist in investigating and defending a broad spectrum of suspected fraudulent claims on behalf of insurers, local authorities and self-insured companies. Katherine also handles all manner of insurance claims, predominantly motor, casualty, travel sickness, property and first-party matters. Among her highlights she successfully defended a fraud ring of 30 linked road traffic accident claims, defeating all the claims and securing the client savings of £1.3m.

The thirteen lawyers promoted represent a broad spectrum of Kennedys’ practice areas, including commercial, employment and healthcare, as well as specialist areas of insurance and liability including cyber, property and construction, professional liability, travel, abuse and fraud. In addition to the eight promoted in the UK, Kennedys promoted four across its offices in the US and one in Australia.

Nick Thomas, Senior Partner of Kennedys, says: “A key element of the Kennedys culture is ensuring that people have clear routes to progress their careers, and so I am very pleased to welcome as my partners those who have proven that they have the energy, professionalism and skill to take the step up.

“Of course, we also grow via recruitment and acquisition, but we make it a priority to ensure that everyone knows that they are valued and their hard work will be rewarded and this year’s promotions showcase how we value those who show commitment to clients and to improving the services we provide.

“Despite the Covid-19 crisis, we believe it is important to show confidence in our people and in the future for Kennedys that they will help shape.”

Already this year Kennedys has recruited partners in Ireland, Peru and Singapore, joined the government’s Northern Powerhouse Partner Programme, confirmed a new leadership team in Madrid and launched Kennedys IQ, a separate technology driven company.

In the last 12 months Kennedys has made 20 lateral hires, strengthening its global offering from its offices in Australia, Chile, Ireland, Peru, Portugal, Singapore, UAE, the US and the UK. The most recent of these laterals was the appointment of healthcare partner, Tom Armstrong, on 1 May, who will head up a new healthcare team based in the firm’s Sheffield office. He will be working closely with Kennedys’ healthcare lawyers in Birmingham, Cambridge and London.

Kennedys opened its Manchester office in 2008 and, in October 2017, moved into larger premises in the city to accommodate growth in the region. The office now comprises 133 people, eleven of whom are Partners.