Mark Joseph Kenney

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?”