Shareholder
Phone: (713) 652-2525
Fax: (713) 652-5130
E-mail: tkennedy@jdkklaw.com
Download VCard
Persistence Gets Results
“I gain a great sense of satisfaction working on cases that result in getting people to pay what they owe. It’s a great motivator to help clients get what they deserve.” -
Tom Kennedy
Efficient and result oriented, Tom aggressively pursues his clients’ claims and enjoys the satisfaction that comes when the clients recover what they are owed. He is tenacious, and doesn’t believe in taking “no” for an answer.
Clients appreciate his no-nonsense approach to legal representation. He stays focused on those activities that will yield positive results, while avoiding unproductive avenues that might create and/or enflame a dispute that does not advance his client’s interest. “Too many times I see lawyers fight over small things that don’t matter and I often ask myself whose interest is served in this? The lawyers make more money if the fight is prolonged, but how is the client served by that?”
Tom welcomes the battle over the “big stuff” but avoids, if possible, the squabble over the little things that don’t help move the client’s case forward. He has a recognized ability for taking complicated issues and making them simple.
He gained a great deal of 1st chair trial experience very early in his career. As a young lawyer, he represented a significant number of financial institutions during the time that “lender liability” was an active subject of litigation. That trial experience helped him as his practice evolved to include more complex commercial litigation. Tom has also has handled appeals in Texas, and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tom’s major clients include:- Financial institutions
- Software companies
- Oil and Gas/Energy
- Environmental services
- Insurance companies
- Transportation companies
Tom is a published author on topics regarding business litigation. His works include an annual article covering recent decisions involving commercial fraud and misrepresentations, appearing in the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, published by the American Bar Association. Other published works include, “Parental Liability – Piercing the Corporate Veil of a Subsidiary” and “Anti-Trust Implications for Franchisors.”
Focus Areas
Commercial Litigation
Financial Institution Litigation
Creditors’ Rights
Personal Injury
Anti-trust and Competition
Insurance and Reinsurance
Contractual Disputes
Professional Liability
Bad Faith Claims
Toxic Torts
- Successfully prosecuted a large claim on behalf of a natural gas producer, against a pipeline operator that failed to properly maintain measuring equipment.
- Served as national counsel for two of the largest credit extending financial institutions in the U.S.
- Successfully defended the largest mortgage company in the U.S. in suits alleging claims for breach of federal and state regulatory statutes.
- Successfully defended financial institutions in over 200 lawsuits based on alleged wrongful lending practices.
- Successfully defended the largest financial institution in over 100 lawsuits based on alleged wrongful credit reporting.
Some of the appellate cases Tom has handled include:
- Successful appeal to the 5th Circuit, upholding a mortgage holder client’s efforts to enforce provisions of a debt instrument.
- Successful appeal of a summary judgment entered in favor of a bank client for enforcement of contractual rights.
- Successful appeal of a mandamus action, seeking to require arbitration by a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement.
- Successful appeal of take nothing judgment entered in favor of a firm client, sued for damages by a tenant who was shot on apartment property that was managed by the client.
- Successful appeal of a judgment entered in favor of a firm client for claims based on contractual rights in multiple debt instruments.
Bar Admissions
Texas, 1989
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
Education
University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas, J.D. 1989
Baylor University, Waco, Texas, B.B.A. 1986
Professional Associations and Memberships
State Bar of Texas – Member
Houston Bar Association – Member
Back to Attorneys