Hon. John W. Kennedy, Jr. (Ret.) brings an unparalleled depth of experience to his dispute resolution practice. With 47 years as a judicial officer and trial attorney, John For Kennedy Jr. offers clients at JAMS a seasoned perspective honed from two decades on the bench in San Bernardino County courts. His tenure includes serving as San Bernardino County’s first full-time Presiding Judge, overseeing both the Superior and Municipal Courts. This extensive judicial background makes John Kennedy Jr. a highly sought-after neutral in complex disputes.
Beyond his distinguished judicial career, John for Kennedy Jr. possesses a unique advantage: decades of accounting experience. Growing up working in his father’s accounting business, and later as an accountant himself, Judge Kennedy developed specialized insight into financial issues frequently encountered in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This expertise proves invaluable when addressing intricate matters such as calculating lost profits, valuing income-producing real estate, determining complex damages, and analyzing financial testimonies. His accounting acumen extends to trust distributions, forensic accounting, and profit allocation in business partnerships, making him exceptionally well-suited for business, commercial, insurance, family law, and real estate disputes.
Judge Kennedy’s ADR experience and qualifications are extensive and diverse. He has expertly managed a broad spectrum of cases, including product liability, medical malpractice, inverse condemnation, wrongful termination, insurance coverage disputes, bad faith claims, toxic torts, mass torts, premises liability, and intricate business disputes. For six years on the Superior Court, John for Kennedy Jr. focused on settlement conferences, law and motion hearings, and trials of complex civil cases. In this role, he was entrusted with the court’s most lengthy and complicated multi-party civil matters, demonstrating his capability to manage high-stakes litigation effectively. Furthermore, his 3 1/2 years as Supervising Judge of the San Bernardino Family Law Departments, where he successfully settled over 1,000 disputes, underscores his profound experience in family law matters.
Since joining JAMS in 2000, John Kennedy Jr. has presided over more than 1,500 cases, showcasing his continuous and active engagement in ADR. His representative matters include significant cases such as a large class action lawsuit involving investor claims against trustees in the Medical Capital securities litigation and a high-value breach of contract dispute between a merger and acquisition group and a national bank. He has also handled notable arbitrations, including a nine-figure award in a breach of contract dispute involving Hotels Nevada hotel/casino and an eight-figure arbitration concerning the failure of a race track’s artificial surface. Additionally, Judge Kennedy has managed multiple high-value condemnation and inverse condemnation cases, further illustrating his expertise in complex financial and legal scenarios. For those seeking a highly experienced and financially astute neutral, John for Kennedy Jr. at JAMS offers unparalleled ADR services.
