Barbara J. Kennedy

Ms. Kennedy practices primarily in the areas of civil and commercial litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, state licensing matters, employment law, and selected family law matters. She has extensive litigation experience and has appeared before state trial courts, the Michigan Court of Claims, the United States District Courts (Eastern and Western divisions) and the Michigan Board of Professional Licensing. Ms. Kennedy has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan since the formation of the Legal Assistant Section in 1986 and was admitted to the Bar in 1995. She is active in professional and community organizations, including leadership positions in the American Legion Auxiliary.

Ms. Kennedy has over 26 years of experience in the legal profession as counsel in a wide variety of civil, regulatory, licensing, dispute resolution, and family law matters. She enjoys the unique advantage of having acquired a comprehensive perspective on effective litigation handling, gained from several years as a legal secretary and paralegal in litigation practices. She is a hands-on, results-oriented attorney committed to excellent and effective representation. She achieved two undergraduate degrees and her law degree, all with academic honors, while attending night school and working full time in the legal profession.

Prior to joining Wheeler Upham, Ms. Kennedy worked for the City of Detroit Law Department defending civil litigation matters and continued her litigation career at firms in Detroit, Okemos, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has instructed students in the legal secretary and paralegal fields and acted as a substitute teacher in the Lansing Community College paralegal program. She has participated in numerous presentations and webinars on medical malpractice, risk management, public and private healthcare liens, and peer review.

Ms. Kennedy has co-published articles for Medscape, the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Quarterly, and the Michigan Dental Association Journal, and she acted as a guest editor of the Michigan Bar Journal’s first Legal Assistants theme issue.