DWF’s strategic recruitment from Kennedys redefines UK insurance litigation landscape

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.

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—Richard West, Clare Mulligan, Gareth Thomas, and Jennifer Harris—joined DWF’s 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.

Matthew Doughty, group chief executive and head of DWF’s insurance services division, emphasised the significance of this acquisition. He described the arrival of these colleagues as “a significant expansion” that reinforces DWF’s 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’ and public liability claims.

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.

Additionally, in March 2025, DWF appointed Suzanne Liversidge, Kennedys’ former global managing partner, as a Strategic Adviser to support its growth strategy, client management, and integration of mergers and acquisitions. Liversidge’s experience leading Kennedys from 2019 to 2024 adds valuable insight as DWF continues to pursue expansion through strategic hires and acquisitions.

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.

DWF’s current ownership by private equity firm Inflexion Private Equity Partners, following its transition from a publicly-listed company, may also be influencing the firm’s 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.

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Source: Noah Wire Services

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score:
8

Notes:
The narrative is recent, with the earliest known publication date being 24 July 2025. The report is based on a press release from DWF, which typically warrants a high freshness score. However, earlier versions show different figures, dates, or quotes, indicating potential discrepancies. Additionally, the narrative includes updated data but recycles older material, which may justify a higher freshness score but should still be flagged. ([dwfgroup.com](https://dwfgroup.com/en/news-and-insights/press-releases/2025/7/dwf-recruits-five-partners-to-its-major-injury-and-casualty-practice?utm_source=openai))

Quotes check

Score:
7

Notes:
The direct quotes from Matthew Doughty and David Abbott appear in earlier material, suggesting potential reuse. However, no online matches were found for the quotes attributed to Claire Bowler and Victoria Kennedy, raising the possibility of original or exclusive content. ([dwfgroup.com](https://dwfgroup.com/en/news-and-insights/press-releases/2025/7/dwf-recruits-five-partners-to-its-major-injury-and-casualty-practice?utm_source=openai))

Source reliability

Score:
9

Notes:
The narrative originates from a reputable organisation, DWF, which is a global provider of integrated legal and business services. The report is published on DWF’s official website, indicating a high level of reliability. ([dwfgroup.com](https://dwfgroup.com/en/news-and-insights/press-releases/2025/7/dwf-recruits-five-partners-to-its-major-injury-and-casualty-practice?utm_source=openai))

Plausability check

Score:
8

Notes:
The claims about DWF’s expansion and recruitment align with recent strategic moves by the firm, including the acquisition of a marine insurance team from Kennedys in February 2025. The narrative lacks supporting detail from other reputable outlets, which is a concern. The tone and language are consistent with corporate communications, and there are no excessive or off-topic details. However, the lack of external corroboration raises questions about the narrative’s authenticity. ([dwfgroup.com](https://dwfgroup.com/en/news-and-insights/press-releases/2025/2/dwf-to-recruit-four-marine-insurance-partners-from-kennedys?utm_source=openai))

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): OPEN

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM

Summary:
The narrative presents recent developments regarding DWF’s acquisition of 28 lawyers from Kennedys. While the source is reputable, the presence of recycled content, potential reuse of quotes, and lack of external corroboration raise concerns about the narrative’s originality and authenticity. Further verification from independent sources is recommended to confirm the accuracy of the claims.