Attorney Profile

Galvin B. Kennedy

Houston, Texas

Phone:
Local: 713-523-0001
Toll Free: 877-342-2020

Galvin Kennedy is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Less than 3% of lawyers in Texas are board certified in personal injury law. He has also been named a Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. He is an active member of many organizations, including:

• The State Bar of Texas,
• National Employment Lawyers Association,
• Texas Super Lawyer: 2006-2011,
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum member,
• AV Rated by Martindale Hubble,
• Houston Trial Lawyers Association,
• Houston Trial Lawyers Foundation,
• Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, and
• H Texas Magazine: Best Lawyers of Houston (2005, 2006).

Galvin Kennedy founded Kennedy Hodges LLP with his law partner, David Hodges, in 2001. After 10 years, they have represented more than 1,000 clients in personal injury cases that range from products liability, serious trucking accidents, professional malpractice, and premises liability and also representing workers in wage and hour claims (Fair Labor Standards Act claims).

Spotlight on Galvin Kennedy

"I have witnessed firsthand how attorneys armed with a law license and passion can help small clients stand up to large corporate and governmental entities with virtually unlimited resources."

When I was young I watched my mother raise four children by herself while working double shifts at a grocery store and local police station in the Chicago suburbs. When I was 10 years old, my mother moved our family from Chicago to Houston, where she started a small business selling fruit baskets and floral arrangements in Houston's Rice Village. During summers and the Christmas rush, she woke me up at the crack of dawn to help her get orders ready and, when I was old enough, make deliveries of the gift baskets and flowers all over the Houston area.

My mother instilled a work ethic that I still carry with me today. I put myself through college on a debate team scholarship and by working just about every odd job out there (painting houses, janitor, call center, tutor, waiter, English teacher, news reporter). I studied political science and English at Northern Illinois University, and received a full scholarship as leader of the university's national debate team. In school, I excelled at public speaking at national competitions as the captain of the school's debate team. I won dozens of regional and national speaker awards and graduated in the top 3% of my class with a B.A. in Political Science, Magna Cum Laude. I then decided to attend law school.

I worked at O'Quinn, Kerensky & Laminack, P.C., and had the privilege of working for one of the most venerable plaintiff's lawyers in the country, the late John O'Quinn. Afterwards, I taught English for one year at a language academy in Barcelona, Spain. While in Spain, I was able to hone my Spanish skills that I use daily with many of my clients. After returning to Houston, I attended the University of Houston Law Center and was an active member of the school's National Mock Trial team. I received the American Jurisprudence Award and several Hippard Mock Trial tournament awards. I was also active in many organizations and was an editor of the Houston Journal of International Law, and a member of the Order of the Barons and the National Order of the Barristers.

The David vs. Goliath structure of our legal system played perfectly into my middle-class upbringings and naturally-competitive streak. I graduated with honors (cum laude) from the University of Houston Law Center, and then worked as a litigation associate at a prominent Houston law firm. I focused on business litigation, employment law, personal injury, investment (securities) litigation, and insurance law. I successfully prosecuted claims against some of Houston (and the nation's) largest companies such as IBM, Halliburton, Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney and Honda Corporation.