OUR FIRM

At Kennedy & Associates, as we recently celebrated our eighteen year anniversary and the opening of our Nashville, Tennessee office, we are proud of our accomplishments and confident about the future.  Starting this defense litigation firm in 2004 was a step taken following a great deal of thought and preparation.  The closest thing we can compare it to is preparing a case for a jury trial.  After thoroughly analyzing all of the possibilities, variables and careful planning, we decided that this was a good case to try.  Our clients are our jury and they will reach a verdict on our service on every case.  We are confident that the service we provide our clients will cause them to reach a favorable verdict about us.

Every client has different needs and every case has different facts. Therefore, a “one size fits all” approach does not work in the defense of matters in litigation. What works is attentiveness, being available and responsive to clients and providing quality, aggressive and efficient service in protecting our clients’ interests. With each new assignment, it is our job with every case to determine if the case is one to attempt to resolve at an early stage, one to defend through trial or one in which additional information is required before a course of action can be discussed and decided upon by the client and the attorney. In order to make that decision, the client and the attorney need enough information to be able to evaluate a case, analyze the issues and make a well-informed decision on how to proceed. Once a decision is agreed to on strategy, the client and the attorney must develop a course of action that will most effectively take the case to resolution.

On cases to defend, there is a process to follow from identifying our defense strategy early, determining the sources of evidence through relevant discovery of documents and witnesses for executing that defense strategy at trial, aggressively attacking the plaintiff’s case before and at trial, efficiently managing the case and the defendants, thorough reporting and finally effectively presenting that defense to a jury. We and our clients have found that our acquired knowledge learned through defending several cases for the same client has assisted our efficiency. We have worked hard to earn a level of trust with our clients over time; particularly for our clients who have entrusted us to defend their cases through to a jury verdict.

Two keys to the attorney/client relationship are the correct information and good communication. From the initial assessment, there needs to be a plan clearly communicated between attorney and client. Clients demand to be a participant in the decision-making in the course of a case and they only can be effective in doing so when they have all the information they need. It is our job to keep our clients informed. We must advise them of potential and real issues, inform them of case developments, good and bad, what their options are and make recommendations on how to proceed. Reading about events after the fact in a status letter or in a bill is too late.

We strive to maintain ongoing, meaningful communication with every client on every case at each step so everyone is on the same page. While every client has different needs, every client wants something as simple as their phone calls returned promptly. Every client wants consistent, common sense, cost-effective case management from an attorney exercising independent professional judgment on their behalf. We want each of our clients to feel like our most important client. Our size is an asset that will allow us to provide individual attention and immediate response that may not be available from a larger firm.

Results on cases are what matters most in the long run for both our clients and for us.  Results and responsiveness over time are what builds trust and confidence in a relationship and we look forward to growing relationships with each of our clients.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of any assistance to you in any way.  Please contact us if you ever have any Illinois or Cook County legal or procedural questions, any Tennessee or Davidson County legal or procedural questions, need a referral for an investigator or any type of liability or medical expert, need a settlement or jury verdict summary for a specific type of injury or case in any Illinois or Tennessee venue or if you need feedback about a particular Illinois or Tennessee county, judge or plaintiff attorney.  We answer such questions frequently for clients and we would be happy to help you any way we can.

We are trial attorneys with over 100 years of litigation defense experience among us.  We have each provided high quality, diligent legal service and common sense direction creating value in our work for clients.  Now, as our firm grows, be assured we are more motivated than ever to do the best job for our clients that we possibly can and build on our relationships with our clients.  This is a very tough business and a very competitive market and we will do everything we can to continue to give every client we have service that will keep them calling us when they need help and referring their peers to us.  Some of our clients have worked with us for over thirty years.  We think the reason is that they like the service they have received and will continue to receive.  We want every client to be comfortable and confident knowing that we will always strive to provide efficient, cost effective, reliable representation.  We will do our best.