UK-based top 50 outfit Kennedys has become the latest legal practice to hive off its new law-type activities into a separate entity.

It has unveiled Kennedys IQ, which it characterises as a separate technology driven company akin to ‘Kennedys, without the lawyers’.

The spin off is targeted at the firm’s large insurance client base and houses a range of existing claims management services. Kennedys says the move will allow it to focus on product management.

Kennedys IQ offers six services that allow clients to automate or manage claims more efficiently and takes advantage of the large amounts of data available to the firm to perform artificial Intelligence-powered functions such as the prediction of medical damages and automatic settlement recommendations.

The spin-off’s board includes Richard West, partner and head of innovation, and longstanding senior partner Nick Thomas. 

Its governance group comprises managing partner Suzanne Liversidge, several other partners and the firm’s directors of business development and finance.

Mike Gilpin, formerly director of IT, becomes commercial director with Karim Derrick moving from head of R&D to product and innovation director.

Derrick said: “Kennedys IQ delivers on the promise of technology to help our global claims clients run better and more effective businesses, turning to Kennedys’ lawyers only when expert legal advice is needed.

“We know claims and we know the law. And we believe that data and technology has the potential to achieve those results, by automating day-to-day processes and unlocking powerful claims insights.”

West added: “We can see that the future of legal services is not just about legal advice; rather, we are expert strategic advisors who work with clients to optimise their businesses.”

Other new law spin-offs include Eversheds Sutherland’s Konexo, which houses its consulting, corporate secretarial and volume insolvency businesses, and Pinsent Mason's flexible resourcing arm Vario, which recently expanded into Germany with the acquisition of Xenion Legal.