Kevin Connolly is a trial lawyer who practices in the areas of complex commercial disputes, oil and gas litigation, construction litigation, product liability matters, maritime law, casualty defense, insurance coverage disputes and indemnity issues. In addition to his commercial practice, Mr. Connolly handles the defense of personal injury and wrongful death actions, including cases involving premises and products liability, the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) and toxic torts. He has handled platform and oil well property damage litigation, cargo claims, construction defect cases, chemical exposure cases, class action litigation and mass casualty lawsuits. Mr. Connolly has conducted numerous accident investigations, both onshore and offshore, and often advises clients on crisis and casualty response efforts. Mr. Connolly has tried cases ranging from breach of contract disputes to personal injury claims.
Within the complex business and commercial litigation area, Mr. Connolly has represented numerous corporations litigating breaches of complicated commercial contracts, including employment, insurance and oil and gas agreements. Mr. Connolly has significant experience in representing oil, oil service and energy-related companies on complex commercial matters in both state and federal courts. His commercial clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas companies; drilling contractors; service companies and shipping companies; as well as mid-size and small business owners. Mr. Connolly also represents a major nationwide healthcare provider in disputes that arise between the company and its numerous landlords.
Within the construction litigation area, Mr. Connolly has represented owners, contractors and product suppliers in connection with construction-related disputes pertaining to small, medium and large scale construction projects. Many of the matters he has worked on in the construction arena have involved voluminous documentation necessitating proficiency in utilizing technology to organize and analyze mass quantities of information in an efficient and cost-effective manner. His experience in working with large amounts of information have enabled Mr. Connolly to obtain positive results for his clients by efficiently utilizing available technology.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Connolly worked for eight years as a software and business consultant to numerous FORTUNE 100 and FORTUNE 500 companies. Because of this experience, Mr. Connolly is comfortable in using the latest technology to enhance the services provided to his clients. He regularly uses technology to organize and analyze evidence during the discovery process and to efficiently and quickly communicate with his clients and opposing counsel, as well as the courts. Additionally, Mr. Connolly’s prior experience with large scale ERP software packages enables him to identify where relevant information is stored and how to access and produce such information in an efficient manner.
Mr. Connolly is active with the Houston Bar Association and Houston Young Lawyers Association and has volunteered for multiple programs, including Legal Lines, the Houston Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity. Mr. Connolly also remains heavily involved with South Texas College of Law, where he often volunteers as a mock trial judge and mock interviewer.
Mr. Connolly is a member of the Advancement Committee of YES Prep Public Schools, a Houston-based charter school district dedicated to increasing the number of low-income Houstonians who graduate from a four-year college prepared to compete in the global marketplace. Mr. Connolly is also a founding member of YES Prep Professionals, which is an organization dedicated to mentoring YES Prep students.
Mr. Connolly is member of the Houston Young Lawyers Association, Texas Young Lawyers Association, Houston Bar Association, Texas Association of Defense Counsel and Houston Maritime Association.
Mr. Connolly has prepared multiple presentations on key areas of the law most pertinent to his clients. Most recently, Mr. Connolly prepared a presentation to a major client on indemnity under both Maritime and Texas law. His blog posts include “Decision Rendered: Controversy Regarding Insuring Against Punitive Damages” and “Punitive Damages for Gross Negligence Insurable Under Texas Law,” both of which were posted on an energy law blog in 2008.