John Kennedy Jr.

John J. Kennedy, Jr., is the founding partner of Kennedy, Johnson, Schwab & Roberge, P.C. In 1988, John formed Kennedy & Johnson, along with David Johnson. John is an accomplished trial attorney, spending most of his more than 48 years practicing in Connecticut, representing injured clients before juries.

After nearly five decades practicing law, John still finds trying cases to juries in automobile accident, premises liability, medical malpractice and product liability cases his passion. In addition to handling complex jury trials, John has decades of experience handling cases before trial, mediating and arbitrating matters and negotiating claims on behalf of his clients. He is often selected as a mediator and arbitrator in medical malpractice and other personal injury cases.

John was honored to be one of just 500 lawyers in the United States inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only fellowship of leading trial lawyers. He is also a member of ABOTA and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. John is an active member of the New Haven County Bar Association and served as president of that organization in 1991-1992. John participates in the American Association for Justice and the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, and served as president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association in 2011-2012.

John believes in the importance of a lawyer’s knowledge of the law in effective representation of clients. Therefore, John has often served as a lecturer to his peers at continuing legal education programs through the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and the New Haven County Bar Association. John is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and for the Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of New York, as well as all state courts in Connecticut. He served for many years as co-chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

John is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the areas of medical malpractice, personal injury and product liability. He has been named Best Lawyers’ New Haven Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024; Best Lawyers’ New Haven Personal Injury Litigation Lawyer of the Year in 2016, 2018 and 2025; and Best Lawyers’ New Haven Product Liability Lawyer of the Year in 2022 and 2024. John has been selected to Connecticut Super Lawyers from 2006 through 2026 and has been named to the Super Lawyers Top 10 list in Connecticut every year from 2017 through 2026. In 2025, John was named to Forbes’ America’s Best-In-State Lawyers list for Connecticut.

In 2018, John received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

A native of Connecticut, John lives in Cheshire with his wife of over 51 years, Sandy. John travels between trials when he can. He also enjoys cooking, reading a good novel and spending time with his children and grandchildren.