attorneys
OFFICE
One Embarcadero CenterSuite 2600
San Francisco
CA 94111
415-398-3344 Tel
415-956-0439 Fax
Areas of Practice
- Financial Services
- Auto Finance
- Financial Services Litigation
- Labor & Employment
- Mortgage Banking
Education
- University of San Francisco, Valedictorian , B.A., 1975
- New York University School of Law, Root-Tilden Scholar, J.D., 1978
Additional
- Root-Tilden Scholar
- Moot Court Champion
Mark Joseph Kenney is Severson & Werson’s Chair and Managing Director. He specializes in civil litigation, dispute resolution and business counseling, with an emphasis on class actions and other complex disputes, and federal and state civil law enforcement matters. Mr. Kenney is an accomplished trial lawyer, having defended clients in some of California’s largest class action suits. His substantive expertise includes the following areas:
Class Action Litigation: Mr. Kenney has handled class litigation in jurisdictions throughout the United States, involving commercial and consumer lending, manufacturing and product defense, intellectual property, civil fraud and other issues.
Fraud Litigation: Mr. Kenney has handled claims of statutory and/or common law fraud in complex business transactions, including securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance (fraudulent originations and loans obtained by false pretenses) and fiduciary relationships (e.g., accountant-client and attorney-client).
Statutory Actions: Mr. Kenney has prosecuted and defended state and federal RICO, securities fraud, antitrust, copyright, trademark and unfair trade practices litigation.
Employment Litigation: Mr. Kenney has defended wrongful termination and employment tort claims by former employees and management of business concerns.
Personal Injury and Malpractice Defense: Mr. Kenney has defended products liability, wrongful death, general personal injury and complex legal malpractice litigation.
Mr. Kenney received his juris doctorate from the New York University School of Law, where he was a Root-Tilden scholar. He joined Severson in 1980 after serving as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Richard P. Matsch, United States District Court for the District of Colorado. A member of the firm since 1986, he has been Severson’s Managing Director since 2000. He is a member of the American and San Francisco Bar Associations, the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), and has been an instructor for the California Continuing Education of the Bar and University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Recent Professional Activity
Mr. Kenney spoke on the panel “The Emerging Concept of Suitability in the Lending Industry” at the Mortgage Banker's Association Legal Issues & Regulatory Compliance Conference (New Orleans, Louisiana, May 2007).
Mr. Kenny was awarded the 2006 Distinguished Service Award by the American Financial Association (AFSA). For more details, see "Mark J. Kenney Receives Highest Honor from the American Financial Services Association."
Selected, “Best Lawyer in the Bay Area - Automotive” by Bay Area Lawyer Magazine (May / June 2006).
Selected, “Best Lawyer in the Bay Area - Automotive” by Bay Area Lawyer Magazine (September / October 2005).
Mr. Kenney spoke on the panel, “Preparing for New Claims of Discriminatory Mortgage Lending and the Onslaught of HMDA-Related Class Actions” at the 5th Annual Winning Strategies for Defending and Settling Consumer Finance Litigation and Class Actions Conference (New York City, September 2005).
Mr. Kenney was recently interviewed by National Public Radio’s Fawnee Evnochides as part of a program on local efforts to regulate “predatory lending.” The interview was broadcast Sunday August 21st on San Francisco's KALW, 91.7 FM. Mr. Kenney successfully argued for the American Financial Services Association in the California Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in AFSA v. City of Oakland which established limits on local regulation of lending practices already covered by State and Federal laws.
Mr. Kenney spoke on the panel, “State Predatory Lending Law and Regulation” at the Mortgage Banker’s Association Legal Issues & Regulatory Compliance Conference (Phoenix, Arizona, May 2005).
Mr. Kenney appeared before the California Assembly Committee On Banking & Finance, chaired by the Hon. Ronald S. Calderon on February 28, 2005. The Committee was holding an informational hearing on the topic: “Covered and Subprime Loans in California: Are Consumers Getting the Protection They Need?”
Mr. Kenney has significant expertise with civil trials, dispute resolution and business counseling with an emphasis on class actions and other complex disputes, and federal and state civil law enforcement matters.
Mr. Kenney's substantive focus includes:
Class Action Litigation: Handling of class litigation in jurisdictions throughout the United States, involving commercial and consumer lending, manufacturing and product defense, intellectual property, civil fraud and other issues.
Fraud Litigation: Claims of statutory and/or common law fraud in complex business transactions, including securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance (fraudulent originations and loans obtained by false pretenses) and fiduciary relationships (e.g., accountant-client and attorney-client).
Statutory Actions: Prosecution and defense of state and federal RICO, securities fraud, antitrust, copyright, trademark and unfair trade practices litigation.
Civil Enforcement: Defense of financial sector firms in state and federal RICO, securities fraud and unfair trade practices litigation based upon civil enforcement provisions in applicable statutes.
Intellectual Property: Prosecution and defense of patent, copyright, trademark and unfair trade practices claims; false advertising and trade disparagement; theft of trade secrets; industrial espionage; management/employee defalcations.
Employment Litigation: Wrongful termination and employment tort claims by former employees and management of business concerns.
Personal Injury: Defense of products liability, wrongful death, and general personal injury tort litigation.
Malpractice Defense: Defense of complex professional malpractice litigation.
Biographical Information:
Employment History:
Member, Severson & Werson since 1986; joined the firm in 1980. Managing Director of the firm since 2000.
Law Clerk, Honorable Richard P. Matsch, United States District Court for the District of Colorado, 1979-80.
Education: B.A., University of San Francisco, 1975, Valedictorian. J.D., New York University School of Law, 1978; Root-Tilden Scholar; Moot Court Champion.
Admitted to Practice: California, 1978; Colorado, 1979.
Professional Affiliations: American Financial Services Association Law Committee; Mortgage Bankers Association of America Legal Issues Committee; CMBA Legal Issues Committee; American Bar Association, Sections on Litigation, Tort & Insurance Practice, and Antitrust. San Francisco Bar Association.
Professional Activities: Instructor, University of California Hastings Law School; lecturer on contract torts at industry professional education seminars and on civil procedure during trial for the California Continuing Education of the Bar.
Mr. Kenney's substantive focus includes:
Class Action Litigation: Handling of class litigation in jurisdictions throughout the United States, involving commercial and consumer lending, manufacturing and product defense, intellectual property, civil fraud and other issues.
Fraud Litigation: Claims of statutory and/or common law fraud in complex business transactions, including securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance (fraudulent originations and loans obtained by false pretenses) and fiduciary relationships (e.g., accountant-client and attorney-client).
Statutory Actions: Prosecution and defense of state and federal RICO, securities fraud, antitrust, copyright, trademark and unfair trade practices litigation.
Civil Enforcement: Defense of financial sector firms in state and federal RICO, securities fraud and unfair trade practices litigation based upon civil enforcement provisions in applicable statutes.
Intellectual Property: Prosecution and defense of patent, copyright, trademark and unfair trade practices claims; false advertising and trade disparagement; theft of trade secrets; industrial espionage; management/employee defalcations.
Employment Litigation: Wrongful termination and employment tort claims by former employees and management of business concerns.
Personal Injury: Defense of products liability, wrongful death, and general personal injury tort litigation.
Malpractice Defense: Defense of complex professional malpractice litigation.
Biographical Information:
Employment History:
Member, Severson & Werson since 1986; joined the firm in 1980. Managing Director of the firm since 2000.
Law Clerk, Honorable Richard P. Matsch, United States District Court for the District of Colorado, 1979-80.
Education: B.A., University of San Francisco, 1975, Valedictorian. J.D., New York University School of Law, 1978; Root-Tilden Scholar; Moot Court Champion.
Admitted to Practice: California, 1978; Colorado, 1979.
Professional Affiliations: American Financial Services Association Law Committee; Mortgage Bankers Association of America Legal Issues Committee; CMBA Legal Issues Committee; American Bar Association, Sections on Litigation, Tort & Insurance Practice, and Antitrust. San Francisco Bar Association.
Professional Activities: Instructor, University of California Hastings Law School; lecturer on contract torts at industry professional education seminars and on civil procedure during trial for the California Continuing Education of the Bar.
- A trial team from Severson & Werson’s Financial Services Group, led by Mark Kenney and Mark Wraight, successfully represented a national bank in a week long trial in Alameda Superior Court. Severson & Werson persuaded the Court that the bank was entitled to recover damages in excess of $500,000 based on a breach of warranty under the Uniform Commercial Code.
- In what may be the largest auto dealer finance case ever tried to jury verdict, Severson & Werson defended Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. against $250 million in “lender liability” damage claims by a failed auto dealer group and prevailed with a $40 million judgment against the dealer after 5 weeks of trial. Nissan reports that this is the largest judgment it has ever obtained. The trial team included Duane Geck, Mark Kenney, Eric Troutman and Drew Elliott.
Defense of financial sector companies in state and federal RICO, securities fraud and unfair trade practices litigation based upon civil enforcement provisions in those statutes.
Litigation and resolution of extremely large and complex legal malpractice action involving numerous real estate financed transactions over a period of ten years.
Resolution of disputes over intellectual property rights, including trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation.
Litigation of disputes involving D & O Insurance, and fidelity bond claims.
Litigation of wrongful termination claims by terminated employees and officers of major financial institutions.
Representation of lenders, title insurance firms and servicers in cases involving borrower claims of negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and/or other commercial torts.
Prosecution, for a major mortgage banking firm, of a large fraudulent origination scheme involving officers of the company; related Director's and Officer's insurance claims and wrongful termination litigation.
Representation of nation's largest mortgage banker in massive multi-district litigation involving fraudulent origination of second mortgage pools serviced by the client.
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Severson defended Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. against $250 million in “lender liability” damage claims by a failed auto dealer group and prevailed with a $40 million judgment against the dealer.
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Severson & Werson attorneys nominated as Northern California Super Lawyers 2011.
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