Kennedys boosts New York office with insurance hire

We are pleased to announce that we have strengthened our insurance coverage capabilities and global insurance practice with the hire of Mark Dessi from US firm Skarzynski Black. He joins as a partner in our New York office where he is reunited with several former partners from Sedgwick who joined Kennedys CMK last autumn.

Mark represents insurers in negotiating and litigating first- and third-party insurance claims under policies covering directors’ and officers’ liability, financial institution liability, professional liability, cyber liability, errors and omissions, and employment practices liability.

He serves as monitoring and coverage counsel to insurers primarily based in the United States, London and continental Europe. He also resolves disputes arising out of regulatory proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Chris Carroll, one of the founders of Carroll McNulty & Kull (CMK), who we merged with a year ago, to form Kennedys CMK in the United States, says: “Mark is a valuable addition as we continue to expand our New York-based financial lines practice. He focuses in the same areas of practice and works for several of the same insurer clients, so the fit is perfect. It’s an added advantage that Mark is joining his former colleagues.”

Mark Dessi says: “This move appealed to me for many reasons, including joining Kennedys’ impressive financial lines practice. Given the nature of my practice, the breadth and depth of the firm’s global network was especially important. Kennedys is the only insurance law firm with a presence in the core hubs of London, New York and Bermuda, and this will prove invaluable to my clients.”

In September last year Kennedys CMK announced the arrival of a six-strong team to its New York office from Sedgwick, headed by John Blancett and comprising two partners and three associates. This was followed by the addition of three partners, also from Sedgwick, to its Chicago office which further boosted its insurance practice and capabilities.