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DWF has recruited a 28-lawyer team from rival firm Kennedys, significantly bolstering its UK major injury and casualty practice and marking a bold move in the competitive legal market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
DWF has announced a substantial acquisition of legal talent from a key rival, Kennedys, marking a notable expansion of its major injury and casualty practice in the UK. The firm revealed that a full team of 28 lawyers, including partners and various senior legal professionals, will be transferring to its London and Leeds offices. This move follows an earlier announcement in July when four partners\u2014Richard West, Clare Mulligan, Gareth Thomas, and Jennifer Harris\u2014joined DWF\u2019s major injury and casualty team from Kennedys. Now, the addition of 24 more lawyers, including director Nicola Hammerton and senior associates Milena Iyer, Sue Lovegrove, Lindsey Mayor, and others, further strengthens the firm’s expertise. The new team brings considerable experience across several areas, such as liability defence, catastrophic injury, travel litigation, regulatory law, and crisis management.<\/p>\n
Matthew Doughty, group chief executive and head of DWF\u2019s insurance services division, emphasised the significance of this acquisition. He described the arrival of these colleagues as \u201ca significant expansion\u201d that reinforces DWF\u2019s position as a leading provider of legal and business services to the insurance sector. Doughty highlighted the depth and calibre of the intake as exceptional. Adding to this momentum, a fifth major injury partner, Victoria Kennedy, is set to join DWF in early October from DAC Beachcroft, further consolidating its expertise in large loss employers\u2019 and public liability claims.<\/p>\n
This latest recruitment forms part of a wider strategic trend by DWF to bolster its insurance services division, which employs around 2,000 people globally. Earlier in 2025, DWF had also expanded its marine insurance capabilities by recruiting four senior partners from Kennedys specialising in marine insurance litigation, handling complex cases such as coverage disputes, recovery actions, and international trade disputes. This was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen its global presence and sector-specific expertise.<\/p>\n
Additionally, in March 2025, DWF appointed Suzanne Liversidge, Kennedys\u2019 former global managing partner, as a Strategic Adviser to support its growth strategy, client management, and integration of mergers and acquisitions. Liversidge\u2019s experience leading Kennedys from 2019 to 2024 adds valuable insight as DWF continues to pursue expansion through strategic hires and acquisitions.<\/p>\n
Kennedys, meanwhile, has maintained a relatively low profile in response to these moves and declined to comment. However, the firm itself has been pursuing its own growth, acquiring a nine-strong liability team from Plexus Law in 2023 and adding specialist counter-fraud expertise through the recruitment of James Stevens, formerly of DWF.<\/p>\n
DWF\u2019s current ownership by private equity firm Inflexion Private Equity Partners, following its transition from a publicly-listed company, may also be influencing the firm\u2019s aggressive expansion strategy aimed at consolidating its market position in key legal sectors. The capture of such a large, cohesive team from a direct competitor underlines both competitive intensity in the UK legal services market and DWF’s ambition to scale rapidly within insurance-related litigation and advisory services.<\/p>\n