Kimbley A. Kearney

Partner

Kimbley Kearney is a senior partner with Clausen Miller P.C. who has successfully litigated cases involving ocean marine casualty and property loss, class actions, mass toxic tort, employment discrimination, insurance coverage and commercial disputes in numerous jurisdictions in the United States.  Ms. Kearney has been a Proctor in Admiralty since 1992 and is the head of the firm’s Admiralty and Maritime Practice Group.  She is also a member of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group and an experienced mediator.  Ms. Kearney is a member of the Board of Directors of the Maritime Law Association of the United States.

On the appellate level, Ms. Kearney’s victories include Domar v. M/V Andrew Martin, in which she persuaded the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to recognize one of the only exceptions to the Robins Dry Dock rule, Hatch v. Durocher, a case of first impression in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals resulting in the denial of seaman status to a marine construction worker and Howard v. So. Ill. Riverboat Casino, a case of first impression in which she persuaded the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that indefinitely moored vessels are not “vessels in navigation” within the meaning of the Jones Act.

Ms. Kearney’s combined trial and appellate experience enables her to offer a unique service to her clients: appellate monitoring of high profile cases nationwide.  She is frequently retained as monitoring appellate counsel well in advance of trial to independently evaluate cases and provide objective opinions of potential liability and exposure for damages.  Her participation during the pre-trial phases of significant cases provides clients and their trial counsel with an invaluable resource in crafting the most effective legal arguments to be advanced at each stage of the proceedings.  During trial, she positions cases for appeal.

Education

  • J.D. cum laude Tulane University Law School, 1984
  • M.B.A. Tulane University, 1984
  • B.A. St. Mary’s College, 1980

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • Louisiana
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois including Trial Bar
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Eastern District of Louisiana

Organization Affiliations

  • Member of the Board of Directors of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, Active Member of the Committees on Uniformity of U.S. Maritime Law (Former Chair), Marine Insurance & General Average, Recreational Boating
  • Editorial Fellow, American Maritime Cases
  • Federal Bar Association
  • AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society, (ARIAS U.S.)
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Association of Professional Insurance Women
  • Appellate Lawyers Association

View this attorney's Reported Decisions, Verdicts and Judgments.