The Law Offices` areas of practice emphasis include Plaintiff Personal Injury, Plaintiff Food Borne Illness, Plaintiff and Defendant Commercial Litigation, Plaintiff and Defendant General Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Representation of Non-Profits, and Other Expert and Consulting Services. Each area of emphasis is briefly described with an example or examples of the type of litigation or other services referenced.
Plaintiff Personal Injury includes everything from Wrongful Death actions to auto accident, premises liability, and negligence claims of virtually any kind where a person suffers injury and damages. It also includes professional negligence resulting in personal and economic damages to an individual or entity. Professional negligence, usually involving a licensed professional of some sort, typically requires the written opinion of a professional in the same or closely allied profession criticizing a fellow professional for lack of care resulting in harm in a particular case. The Law Offices have a depth of experience in Professional negligence cases, and especially the legal and medical malpractice areas.
Attorney Kenrick has served as co-counsel on hundreds of Food Borne Illness cases in Pennsylvania. Most of these cases involved salmonella as the cause of injury.
Plaintiff and Defendant Commercial Litigation have involved representation of Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses and individuals. Examples of representations include defending officers and directors in shareholder derivative actions and defending the sale of a division of a major company from attack by a disappointed purchaser. Plaintiff and defendant representations have involved both prosecuting and defending breach of covenants not to compete and other alleged acts of unfair competition. Related legal services have also included investigating claims of wrongdoing leveled by employees against officers of a corporation, working with forensic accountants, and issuing an evaluation of the allegations with recommendations for the corporation`s Board of Directors. Kenrick has litigated antitrust, bankruptcy, breach of contract, breach of warranty, business torts, class actions, declaratory judgments, injunctions, insurance coverage disputes, lease and franchise termination, real estate, RICO, and shareholder derivative disputes, among others.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR Services) most commonly involves mediation, early neutral evaluation, special master, or arbitration services. Mediation is a negotiation-based method to problem-solving in which the parties the strengths and weaknesses of their positions through the mediator. Typically the mediator meets with all parties for a general discussion and then most commonly breaks into individual sessions where in private caucuses the parties may freely discuss the positions and goals. The mediator works with the parties to identify the barriers to resolution to arrive at a mutually agreeable settlement. Mediation is voluntary and no one may force an agreement that is not acceptable to all parties who participate. Confidentiality is maintained throughout the process unless the parties agree otherwise.
Arbitration is an adjudicative process where the issues in a dispute are submitted to the arbitrator who hears testimony in a formal setting and renders a decision, typically in writing. The decision may or may not be binding depending upon the forum in which the arbitration is conducted and the rules controlling the process. Special Master services are offered in areas of discovery and fee disputes, often arising by virtue of court appointments. Early neutral evaluation is normally a non-binding process where the dispute is submitted to a neutral, normally near the beginning of the litigation process, in order to provide the litigants with an objective opinion on likely outcomes and/or the value of the case well before the matter proceeds to trial.
Attorney Kenrick has participated in scores of mediations as an advocate for Plaintiffs and Defendants. He is on the list of qualified Mediators, Arbitrators, and Early Neutral Evaluators published on the Web Site of the United States Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Kenrick is a member of the ADR Committees of both the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Association, and a member of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania. He has written articles on mediation for Pennsylvania and local legal journals and spoken on the subject to plainiff and defense attorneys..
Other consulting services include offering advisory opinions, sometimes known as "second opinions," on civil litigation matters of virtually every kind and type, offering consulting and testimonial expert witness services in cases involving the prosecution or defense of suspected legal and other professional malpractice, and in recommending other lawyers with particular expertise. Kenrick`s 40 years of practice in Western Pennsylvania, and his professional access to a broad range of legal specialists, provide value in assisting clients choose the right counsel .