Kennedys has expanded its UK liability practice with the addition of a nine-strong team from defendant insurance firm Plexus Law. 

The team is led by partner Mark Dyson and includes legal directors Ashley Mahon and Nicola McDougall along with a trio of associates, two litigation assistants and a legal secretary. 

The group’s departure from Plexus comes after it was bought out of administration by Axiom Ince, owner of UK law firm AxiomDWFM and international insurance specialist Ince & Co, earlier this month.

Most of the team will be based in London, while McDougall has joined Kennedys’ office in Newcastle, which the firm opened in May after hiring a specialist liability team from DAC Beachcroft. One of the associates joining from Plexus will also work out of Leeds, where the firm launched a new professional liability hub in June led by partner Catherine Shuttleworth, who relocated from London. 

Claire Mulligan, head of Kennedys’ liability defence arm in the UK, said: “It is testament to the work of our existing team and the results they achieve for our clients that we are in the fortunate position of needing to expand to meet demand. To secure a strong, seamless team like Mark’s is the icing on the cake and I know the benefits their combined experience will bring will be huge.”

The team specialise in defending insurers and self-insureds against employers’ and public liability claims such as fatal or catastrophic accidents involving brain and spinal cord injury, chronic pain and psychiatric problems. As well as personal injury, they also act in cases of alleged abuse, disease, discrimination, bullying and harassment, human rights, data breaches and property damage, and provide clients with advice on policy coverage and product liability.

Dyson, who has been a solicitor for more than 30 years, said he was “delighted” to be joining Kennedys with his team. The firm has one of the largest professional liability offerings in the industry, with more than 180 professionals globally, and is noted by Chambers for its “impressive client base which includes a number of leading insurers” as well as its expertise in defending complex claims against legal and construction professionals. 

For its part, Plexus filed a notice of its intention to appoint an administrator in early June, after investors decided not to put more money into the business following the discovery of historical financial irregularities that had led to the overstatement of the firm’s profits. The sale of the Leeds-based firm – one of the largest in its field – to Axiom Ince secured the jobs of 520 employees and 20 fixed-share partners.