Richard West
Profile
Richard qualified in England and Wales in 1993. He is the global head of liability defence and is a member of the firm’s strategy board. Richard also leads Kennedys’ innovations group.
Richard is a director of Kennedys IQ, our new technology driven company, wholly owned by Kennedys, that provides innovative solutions for insurance companies and large corporates to help them manage claims efficiently.
He is regularly instructed on clients’ most important, valuable and sensitive matters.
Richard acts for insurers, third-party administrators, and brokers and corporates with large deductibles, defending motor and casualty claims. He has particular and extensive expertise in catastrophic injury claims including complex liability matters, reputationally sensitive incidents and brain and psychiatric injury.Before specialising in catastrophic injury cases, Richard gathered in-depth experience in all liability matters including employers’, public and property liability.
He has significant experience advising clients on indemnity and policy matters and substantial experience in settling cases involving Periodical Payment Orders.
Richard leads the liability division and Kennedys’ innovations group with his vision that lawyers should empower their clients to use their lawyers less frequently. He believes that Kennedys should enhance clients’ own skills in the early stages of personal injury litigation in order to ‘de-lawyer the law’.
Richard developed Kennedys' virtual lawyer online claims tool ‘KLAiM’, which won Legal Technology Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2016. He has spearheaded the firms’ Innovation Toolkit, which is revolutionising the way in which clients respond to claims. In December 2017, KLAiM also won Insurance Day’s award for Technology Initiative of the Year.
Richard is the lead author of Kennedys’ Claims Handling Law and Practice Guide, the fourth edition of which was published in February 2021, and is a regular presenter and trainer. He is a member of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL).
As part of his active role in the firms’ lobbying agenda, Richard chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting in Westminster, focusing on Jackson reforms and authored Kennedys’ Ministry of Justice responses for whiplash, Jackson and portals.
Richard has met with Lord Justice Jackson and Lord Justice Briggs, as well as senior members of the Government Legal Department to demonstrate Kennedys’ innovative and award winning products that embody his division’s core principle of “helping clients to use all lawyers less”.
Richard also contributed to the Claims inflation and personal injury claims: a global review report, published in June 2023.
Related articles
Qualifications and admissions
- Qualified in England and Wales in 1993
Market recognition
- Recognised in Best Lawyers UK for ‘Personal Injury Litigation'
Best Lawyers UK 2024 - Notable practitioner for 'Personal Injury: Mainly Defendant (UK-wide)'
"Richard West excels at client care and tactical decisions".
"Richard West is a really good lawyer and a thought-provoking lawyer. He's talented, with a big insurer client following".
"Richard West is a well-regarded personal injury specialist and provides an excellent service".
Chambers UK 2024 - Notable practitioner for 'Insurance: Volume Claims (UK-wide)'
Chambers UK 2024 - Recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (London)'
"Richard West is a truly innovative thinker who just gets how insurers work and what they need. He is a pioneer."
The Legal 500 UK 2024 - Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant (South East)'
"Richard West is described as ‘well respected throughout the industry, well connected with superb legal knowledge and experience’."
The Legal 500 UK 2024 - Nominated by respondents for delivering outstanding service in the last 12 months
The Gracechurch London Market Insurance Law Monitor 2023 - Notable practitioner for 'Personal Injury: Mainly Defendant (UK-wide)'
Chambers UK 2023 - Notable practitioner for 'Insurance: volume claims (UK-wide)'
Chambers UK 2023 -
Recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (London)'"Richard West is a visionary partner"."Richard handles very high-value catastrophic personal injury claims. The results [he and the team] achieve for their clients are regularly exceptional due to the drive and care that they bring to every claim brought before them by their wide range of insurance clients".The Legal 500 UK 2023
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Recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant (South East)'The Legal 500 UK 2023
- Notable practitioner for 'Personal Injury: Mainly Defendant (UK-wide)'
"Richard West has a really good reputation and is very proactive. He is good at building relationships with the claimant lawyer to work together and have open conversations."
Chambers UK 2022 - Recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant (South East)'
The Legal 500 UK 2022
Awards
Work highlights
- Managed a £12 million claim involving a child pedestrian who was struck by a car and severely brain damaged. The claim settled at £6 million.
- Managed a £3 million plus claim for indemnity regarding unpaid costs under aged legal expenses contract. Successfully achieved early strikeout with costs recovered.
- Acting for a motor insurer in a £7 million claim where an infant in a buggy was struck by the defendant's car whilst on a pedestrian crossing.
- Acting on a foreign jurisdiction claim in excess of £40 million following death of high net worth individual in a road traffic accident.
- Managed a claim for £3 million plus against a motor insurer. The claim was struck out completely with costs recovery.
- Advised insurer signatories to the Serious Injury Guide, prior to commencement.