Charles Kennedy

Associate

Charles Kennedy concentrates his practice on civil litigation and criminal defense matters.  He has second-chaired civil and criminal trials in New Jersey state and federal courts.  Prior to joining the firm, Charles clerked for the Honorable Mary Gibbons Whipple in the New Jersey Appellate Division.  During law school, Charles worked for an in-house legal department on a multi-billion-dollar merger between two S&P 500 medical device manufacturers.

Representative Matters

Criminal Defense

  • Second-chaired a wire fraud trial in the District of New Jersey, which resulted in the defendant being acquitted of four out of the five counts against them, with the fifth count resulting in a deadlock.

  • Represented a former employee of a financial institution charged with computer crimes against that financial institution.  We secured a noncustodial sentence for the client even though the prosecutor sought incarceration in federal prison.   

  • Represented a former pharmaceutical engineer charged with possession of child pornography and obtained a 70-month sentence where the client was otherwise exposed to 121-150 months in federal prison.

  • Represented a pharmaceutical sales representative in connection with charges of healthcare fraud and money laundering concerning compounded drugs.  After the filing of pretrial motions and on the eve of trial, the client pled and was sentenced to 37 months.

  • Represented the leader of a complex identity theft and bank fraud scheme and obtained a 65-month sentence where the client was otherwise exposed to 100-125 months in federal prison.

Business Litigation

  • Defense of a neurologist in a civil RICO action brought by a private insurance company and reached a favorable settlement without admitting liability.

  • Defense of a commercial landlord in his individual capacity in a two-week bench trial and obtained the outright dismissal of all claims, including claims of fraud, before closing statements were presented.

  • Defense of a mortgage holder against civil RICO in connection with a commercial real estate transaction.  During the pendency of our firm’s motion to dismiss, the plaintiff dismissed the case with prejudice.

  • Defense of private transportation company in the District of New Jersey against a qui tam whistleblower action alleging civil RICO, violations of the Clean Water Act and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, retaliation, and related state-law claims. We secured the dismissal of all claims with prejudice over the course of two dispositive motions.

  • Assisted lead counsel for a cybersecurity company in defeating a defendants’ interlocutory appeal of an injunction before the matter ultimately settled.

Professional Admissions

  • State of New Jersey, 2018

  • State of New York, 2021

  • United Stated District Court for the District of New Jersey, 2019

Education

  • Rutgers School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2018) Articles Editor, Rutgers Law Record, Member, Rutgers Moot Court Board
    Emory University (B.A., 2014)

Judicial Clerkship

  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary Gibbons Whipple, Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, 2018-19

Publications

  • Standing on Edge: The Lack of Standing Requirements in the USPTO Inter Partes Review Raises a Constitutional Issue. 45 Rutgers L. Rec. 13 (2017)

Professional Activities

  • Member, Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey

  • Member, Essex County Bar Association

  • Secretary, Brick City Run Club, a non-profit organization in Newark, New Jersey