Kennedys has named John Bruce as the successor to its longtime senior partner Nick Thomas. 

London-based Bruce will begin his five-year term at the helm of the UK-based insurance law firm on 25 January following the end of Thomas’s marathon tenure, which began in 1996. 

His appointment was the result of a formal election process among Kennedys’ 349 partners globally. He stood against Nick Williams, head of Kennedys’ core insurance division, and Ben Aram, who leads its corporate and commercial division. 

Bruce is himself a veteran of the firm, which he joined as a partner in 2009 from RPC having earlier practised at Clifford Chance. He previously led Kennedys' global financial lines practice and is a member of the firm’s executive group. 

Bruce will work closely with recently appointed global managing partner Meg Catalano and other members of the firm’s executive group to drive the firm’s global growth, Kennedys said in a statement. 

“I am honoured to have been elected as senior partner for Kennedys,” Bruce said. “I look forward to working with our executive group and the wider partnership to maintain Kennedys’ position as the law firm of choice for the global insurance market and related sectors.”

Bruce’s appointment follows Kennedys reporting its 10th consecutive year of revenue growth in FY24, when the firm increased turnover by 17% to a record high of £384m – more than triple the £122m it generated in FY15. 

A contributor to that has been the firm’s rapid international expansion in recent years under Thomas’s leadership, particularly in the US, where the firm kickstarted its growth push through a merger with Carroll McNulty & Kull in 2017 and has since grown its network to more than 200 people across 12 offices.

The firm’s global presence has grown from 1,700 people operating across 32 offices following the US merger to 2,900 people across 48 offices in 21 countries today.

Thomas will remain at Kennedys as a partner once he has stepped down as senior partner, a role he has held thanks to successive re-elections, the last reported instance of which was in 2016. 

Commenting on Bruce’s appointment, Thomas said: “I have worked with John for a long time, and I have every confidence in his abilities as I hand over the baton. John has many years of legal expertise, and I believe that he will be an extraordinary leader for the firm.”