Shannon L. Kennedy

We’re always asking why are these violations taking place? What trends present violence in the first place? Where is the system broken? What policy and structural changes are needed to repair it?


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We’re always asking why are these violations taking place? What trends present violence in the first place? Where is the system broken? What policy and structural changes are needed to repair it?

Location:

Albuquerque, NM

Phone:

Fax:

(505) 244-1406

Email:

Shannon experienced a pivotal moment in her career as a criminal defense attorney when she asked herself, who do I want to represent? People who can afford the best attorney, or vulnerable populations whose story too often goes unheard? Shannon made her decision. Not long thereafter, during a trial, she received a small hand-written note from her client, a girl too young to be in court that day, a girl who'd been sexually assaulted by a teacher. It read: Thank you for fighting for me. Shannon's client won a $3.2 million settlement and the school district implemented a mandatory training for principals in identifying sexual predators (Sanchez v. Brokop 04-cv-134). There's never been any doubt that Shannon made the right decision.

Shannon's work continues to shift thinking about the legal representation of children and youth and implements policy changes that makes their lives safer. Kenneth Ellis III, an Iraq War veteran severely injured in the line of duty (earning him a Purple Heart) and suffering from PTSD, was fatally shot by officers who failed to implement practices for de-escalating a mental health crisis. Shannon, in co-counsel with Joseph Kennedy and Frances Carpenter, filed a wrongful death/loss of consortium lawsuit on behalf of Kenneth's 5-year-old son. The jury awarded $10.3 million; the case settled in mediation for $7.95 million. Kenneth's sister, in partnership with the VA Hospital where he'd been treated, lobbied for legislative changes that resulted in mandatory crisis intervention and de-escalation training for police officers across the state of New Mexico.

Shannon consistently argues for settlements that require police officers and other public employees receive the training needed to do their jobs responsibly. In a class action case against the city of Albuquerque, student misconduct in the city's public schools was being criminalized with charges of misdemeanors. Students were being arrested and removed from campus without their parents' knowing. Shannon's work resulted in School Resource Officers (many of them retired police) being trained on how to interact with youth. The number of arrests decreased from 180 in a two-year period to just one the year after the new policy went into place.

Shannon studied at The CUNY School of Law and worked in their nationally-recognized public interest law clinic on behalf of battered immigrant woman. She also worked at the United Nations Human Rights Project on behalf of female victims of torture seeking political asylum. She was awarded a Revson Fellowship to work with a farm worker's project in New Mexico and transferred into the University of New Mexico's dual degree program, earning her Juris Doctor and Master's in Latin American studies.

When asked what Shannon does in her free time, she paused as though trying to remember a town she once passed through. Upon giving it further thought, she anticipates that once her children are all off being adults, she'll return to her passion for international travel and scuba diving.

Areas of Practice

  • Police Misconduct
  • Sexual Violence
  • Wrongful Death
  • Children and Youth

Bar Admissions

  • New Mexico, 1994
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1998

Education

  • University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico
    • J.D. - 1994
    • Honors: International Moot Court Team
    • Honors: Law Review: UNM Law Review, State Constitutional Law - Refusing to Turn the Other Cheek - New Mexico Rejects Federal Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule: State v. Gutierrez, , 1994
  • City University of New York School of Law at Queens College, Flushing, New York
    • Honors: Revson Fellowship
    • Honors: Top 10%, First Year Law Class
    • Honors: United Nations Human Rights Project
    • Honors: Law Clinic
  • University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico
    • M.A. - 1994
    • Major: Latin American Studies
  • University of Oregon
    • B.A.
    • Honors: With Honors
    • Major: International Relations
    • Major: Spanish

Representative Clients

  • Bruce Thompson, as Guardian Ad Litem for A.O., J.P. and G.G., Minor Children v. City of Albuquerque, et al. Case No. S-1-SC-35974
  • S.M., v. Bloomfield School District et al Case No. No. 1:16-cv-00823-SCY-WPL

Classes/Seminars

  • Continuing Legal Education Classes, Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
  • CLE Seminar on Police Misconduct, ACLU-NM, 2002 to 2002
  • Speaker, Panel Discussion, Damages in Civil Rights Cases, AAJ annual convention, Boston, MA, 2017 to 2017
  • Speaker, Media Communications in the High Profile Case, with Joseph Kennedy, AAJ Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA, 2016 to 2016
  • Speaker, Representing Children & Youth in Police Misconduct Cases, NPAP, NYC, 2016 to 2016

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, Member
  • New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers' Association, Member
  • Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Member

Representative Cases

  • Dart v. Westall, 2018 NMCA -061, 428 P.3d 292
  • Thompson v. City of Albuquerque, 2017 - NMSC - 021, 397 P.3d 1219
  • D.G. v. The City of Las Cruces, 2015 WL 13665421
  • State v. Boblick, 2004 - NMCA - 078, 93 P.3d 775
  • Sanchez v. Brokop, 398 F.Supp.2d 1177 (D.N.M. 2005)

Honors and Awards

  • Awardee, NBA Wiley A. Branton, 2017
Rated By Super Lawyers | Shannon L. Kennedy | Selected in 2021 | Thomson Reuters