Many thanks to our clients, colleagues, and friends for their confidence, trust, and support over the last 17 years.

The Massachusetts Bar Association presented its Gold Medal Award to Christopher Kenney at the MBA's Annual Gala on Thursday, May 11.

Chris, a past President of the MBA, is a highly respected and nationally recognized litigator and mediator who consistently advocates for his clients and community with an unmatched level of professionalism.

The prestigious Gold Medal Award is given to individuals who have provided outstanding legal services that have benefited the legal profession. K&S joins the MBA in recognizing Chris for his decades of leadership, dedication to enhancing the image of the legal profession and the MBA, and his extensive commitment to public service.

The Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association presented its Lawyer of the Year award to Mike Sams at its Annual Meeting on Friday, June 2.

Every year, this honor is bestowed upon one lawyer, with a history of significant contributions to the legal community and the community at large. The MassDLA recognized Mike following his years of legal professionalism, dedication to the MassDLA and its Mission, and his tireless commitment to public service.

Mike, a past President of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, is a respected trial lawyer, advocate and business advisor, serving companies and individuals throughout New England with the highest level of professionalism and dedication.



K&S is pleased to welcome M. Matthew Madden, Jr., Jessica Hartman, and

Jeremy Bardsley to the Firm

M. Matthew Madden, Jr. is licensed in New Hampshire and in state and federal courts in Massachusetts. Matt advises clients throughout all stages of dispute resolution, including trial, arbitration, mediation, and private settlement negotiations. He frequently handles 231, § 60L investigations, various types of construction and employment law claims, and general commercial disputes.

Jessica Hartman is licensed in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Jessica supports the firm’s partners in matters related to commercial litigation, corporate disputes, construction, employment, and general business law. Jessica has experience in the courtroom advocating for clients, and mediating and arbitrating matters before a range of tribunals. She successfully resolves disputes related to employment law and commercial litigation matters.

Jeremy Bardsley is licensed in Massachusetts. Jeremy is an experienced securities litigator and concentrates his practice in the areas of business litigation, construction, and employment law. Jeremy advises clients on a wide range of complex disputes and has particular experience in cases involving complex insurance products, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and private placements.

Chris Kenney and Michelle De Oliveira obtained a favorable $100,000 pre-suit settlement in a complex disability discrimination and retaliation case, after weeks of an intense internal investigation into the allegations that the client had reported.

Mike Sams and Jeremy Bardsley represented a subcontractor who received a failing evaluation on a public project. Jeremy and Mike submitted a rebuttal letter and successfully convinced the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (“DCAMM”) to remove the failing evaluation from the subcontractor’s records. These evaluations are important because DCAMM can decertify contractors and subcontractors if they receive too many failing evaluations.

Nate Cole and Alex Zwillinger obtained a highly favorable 5 figure settlement in a complex trade secrets case in which the plaintiff had alleged $160M in damages and violations of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 93A, that exposed the Firm’s contractor client to approximately half a billion dollars in damages. After the effective use of electronic discovery, and on the eve of corporate depositions, the plaintiff recognized that the case was likely to be dismissed on a motion for summary judgment and the case resolved. Another example of K&S’s aggressive, yet prudent, litigation resulting in a favorable outcome – without the cost and risk of trial. 

Mike Sams and Jessica Hartman successfully defended a client against alleged Dig Safe® violations, obtaining dismissal of one claim entirely and a reduced settlement on another.  

Mike Sams and Brittany Darcy successfully opposed a bid protest submitted to the Office of the Attorney General by the second-lowest bidder. The protestor argued that our client, the lowest responsible bidder, materially misrepresented its prior involvement in litigation, and therefore alleged that the City should reject the bid because the omission was allegedly not waivable. Attorneys Sams and Darcy successfully refuted the protestor’s arguments at the bid protest hearing because awarding authorities have discretion to overlook non-statutory omissions when awarding contracts and are permitted to conduct independent investigations in assessing bidder responsibility. The City’s review of the supplemental information before awarding the contract constituted a proper exercise of its discretion in awarding the contract to Kenney & Sams’s client.

How And When Might ChatGPT Disrupt The Legal Landscape?

By: Rachel J. Eisenhaure, Esq.

There is no doubt ChatGPT has the potential to change the legal profession. The form that change will take is as yet unknown. In considering the role that ChatGPT might play in litigation, there are two different roles to consider. The first role, and the one most heavily discussed by others, is the role that it could play in drafting prose. 



Read More Here

A Document Retention Policy May Be

Your Best Friend

By: Michael P. Dickman, Esq.

Flood insurance, IT trainings and phishing alerts, and…document retention policies. What do these have in common? For any individual or business, these items seem like an unnecessary expense and administrative burden when all is well. Yet, when plans change, difficulties emerge, and bold action is necessary to protect you and your business’s interests, they very well could be life preservers.

Read More Here

The Perils of Filing An Intentionally Overstated Mechanic's Lien

By: M. Matthew Madden, Jr., Esq.

A recent Superior Court decision should serve as a warning to contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers (“contractors”) throughout Massachusetts that mechanic’s liens filed with willful and knowing misstatements may be involuntarily dissolved by the Court.

Read More Here

Broad Confidentiality And Non-Disclosure Provisions Struck Down As Unlawful in McLaren Macomb, Drastically Changing The Legal Landscape 

By: Michelle De Oliveira, Esq.

and Herling Romero, Esq.

Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a groundbreaking decision, McLaren Macomb, in which it held that severance agreements with broad confidentiality and broad non-disparagement provisions violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by, among other things, unlawfully restricting employees’ rights to engage in concerted activity or join together to advance their interests as employees.

Read More Here

Chris Kenney has built a burgeoning practice as a mediator. In that role, he helps parties to resolve pending lawsuits before trial. The cases Chris has mediated range from business disputes, personal injury claims, and wrongful death claims to employment disputes, real estate matters, and construction claims.

Tip: Attorneys at mediation have the dual roles of advocate and advisor. Take advantage of the opportunity to actively engage in case preparation focused on efficacy and expectation management to achieve full, final, and favorable settlements at mediation. For an example of this technique, please click below to watch Chris Kenney's presentation on effective mediation techniques he presented to the New England Legal Foundation at Suffolk University Law School.

For more information, please visit our website.

Chris Kenney presented at the New England Legal Foundation's event at Suffolk University on effective mediation techniques. Click below to watch the presentation.

Kenney & Sams Partners Michelle De Oliveira, Laura Raisty, and Anthony Fioravanti volunteered at the Massachusetts Bar Association's Dial-A-Lawyer program in February. The event was sponsored by the Labor & Employment Section Council of the MBA, and has been sponsored by the MBA since 1991. Click here to read more.

Nate Cole has been appointed to a second term as the Chair of the International Association of Defense Counsel's Construction Law and Litigation Committee for the 2023-2024 term. The IADC has been serving a distinguished membership of corporate and insurance defense attorneys and insurance executives since 1920. Its activities benefit the approximately 2,500 invitation-only, peer-reviewed members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession.

Michelle De Oliveira was recently quoted in a Bloomberg Law article, "'No Mercy' Ruling Leaves Employers Sweating Late Paychecks," discussing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Reuter v. City of Methuen decision. Michelle also was interviewed by June Grasso in a Bloomberg Law podcast regarding the impact that Reuter has had on businesses. 

Click here to read the full article.

Michelle De Oliveira was also quoted in a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article discussing the recent Menninger v. PPD Development, L.P. trial, which resulted in a $24M jury verdict for the plaintiff in a disability discrimination case.

Click here to read the full article.

Mike Dickman moderated the Fifth Annual Symposium of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Young Lawyer Division on Friday, March 31. 

Mike moderated the Symposium’s plenary session on best practices for ensuring well-being and avoiding burnout, especially among young practitioners. The discussion included four members of the Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being.

Nate Cole attended the International Association of Defense Counsel's 2023 Midyear Meeting in Austin, TX in February. While there, Nate connected with his IADC Construction Law Committee colleagues, as well as other IADC members and guests.

Michelle De Oliveira successfully wrapped up her second year as Chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association's (MBA) Labor & Employment Section Council, co-chairing the MBA's 44th Annual Labor & Employment Spring Conference and moderating the Judicial Panel with three esteemed Massachusetts judges.

Click here to read more.

Mike Sams recently spoke at Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts on a contract risk management program, and at an Associated Builders and Subcontractors of Massachusetts program on the Prompt Pay program. Mike also hosted a contract and payment program for the Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston.  

“I truly appreciate your advice and your expertise and especially your humble nature. I have already given your name to a number of people."

“I'm thrilled with our progress and I appreciate you and your team immensely. As a small company trying to expand, it is so hard to find the right people to surround ourselves with. You are definitely one of those people.”

“Greg and Chris, many thanks for your efforts and diligence in resolving this matter. We feel as though ‘justice has been served.’  You were both terrific in every step of the journey, and it was a pleasure getting to know you both.”

"I want to send a special thank you for presenting to my team this week. It was great to learn more about how to keep our company safe."

Kenney & Sams will continue to offer our clients regular updates on key issues affecting the construction, business litigation and employment law industries.

We previously offered substantive presentations on cutting edge legal developments via webinar, which are still available to view here, but we will be switching to a podcast format going forward.

Stay tuned for updates!