Record-breaking year for Kennedys as turnover tops £200m and investment continues

We are pleased to report record turnover of £218m for the financial year 2018/19. This represents an 11% increase on the previous financial year and is the first time our revenue has topped £200m.

This growth has been supported by a 7% increase in the number of fee-earners worldwide, with total headcount exceeding 2,000 for the first time in our history.

Between 1 May 2018 and 30 April 2019 we made a number of lateral hires, boosting our global insurance practice with the appointments of Mark Dessi to our New York office, Nick Bond, Robert Steele and team to our office in Manchester and Akramjeet Khaira to our Singapore office. We have also strengthened our international arbitration capabilities with the arrival of Celine Abi Habib Kanakri to our Dubai office.

This investment in the business was further reinforced when we enhanced our innovation capabilities with the opening of a new business, Kennedys Kognitive Computing, and the appointment of a nine-strong development team in India. This was followed with the announcement that our ground-breaking virtual defence lawyer, KLAiM, that empowers clients to have more control over the litigation process, was being rolled out internationally.

As a result of these developments, we have reported growth in revenue both in the UK and globally.

Nick Thomas, Senior Partner at Kennedys, says: “If 2017/18 was about expansion, 2018/19 has been about successful consolidation and innovation. What these figures tell us is that we have made the right choices and that our global strategy, to be the go-to firm for the insurance sector and to provide the best on-the-ground capability where our clients need it, is working.

“Alongside this, we have continued to invest heavily in innovation, having rolled out our award-winning Kennedys Toolkit in the US, Bermuda, Hong Kong and Australia. Clients have been hugely receptive to being shown ways in which our technology can both empower their claims teams and save them money.

“Understanding what puts our clients under pressure enables us to tailor solutions which improve the delivery of legal services.”

In March this year, we became the first international law firm to establish a presence in each of the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Panama through three new associations. We also formed an association with Israeli insurance specialists Zelichov, Ben-Dan & Co in November 2018.

Last month, we promoted 10 lawyers to our partnership, nine based in the UK and one in the US, and strengthened our global financial lines practice with the addition of Maurice Pesso and Greg Steinberg as partners to our New Jersey and New York offices, respectively.

A week ago we announced the arrival of a 12-strong market-leading team from Norton Rose Fulbright which strengthened our marine and energy capabilities.