About John
John Kennedy built a career that moves between public service and private practice. He completed a B.A. in political science at Saint Peter's College in 1983 and earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1986. Those formative years set the tone for a long engagement with criminal justice and regulatory work in New Jersey.
His first post-law school role was a judicial clerkship in 1986 for the Hon. Robert F. Cavanaugh, J.S.C. He spent that year watching trials and drafting opinions. The next year he joined the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice as a deputy lawyer general, a position that placed him inside the state's prosecutorial apparatus early in his career. He later returned to government service in 2005 as an assistant lawyer general in the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, working on matters where criminal and insurance issues intersect.
Kennedy made a turn to private practice while keeping ties to public law. In 2013 he operated under the name John Kennedy, Esq. LLC and joined the New Jersey State Bar Association, maintaining that membership through the present. He spent time at Smith & Brink, P.C. in 2015, taking on client work in the aftermath of a lengthy public-sector tenure. In 2017 he became a partner at Kennedy Vuernick, LLC, where he continues to practice.
Those who have followed his career will see a through line: courtroom work, prosecutorial roles and hands-on litigation. The clerkship gave him a foundation in procedure and judgment writing. The years in the Division of Criminal Justice and at the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s office gave him experience with investigations and the mechanics of bringing cases. In private practice he has taken that background into client counsel and courtroom representation.
Outside of casework, his long membership in the New Jersey State Bar Association places him within the state’s professional community. He has balanced roles in both government and firm settings, moving between public prosecution and private client representation over the decades.
He is licensed to practice in New Jersey and is currently a partner at Kennedy Vuernick, LLC. His practice at the firm concentrates on criminal and regulatory matters, including cases connected to insurance fraud investigations.
