On Friday, December 22, 2023, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Colorado approved a stipulation between Nathan Bret Kennedy and disciplinary counsel to suspend Kennedy’s law license for one year and one day. The suspension stems from Kennedy’s mishandling of three separate client cases.

The case is entitled “People v. Nathan Bret Kennedy,” with case no. 23PDJ061.

The charges cited Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4(a)(3), 3.3(a)(1), 1.4(a)(2) which states:

A lawyer must act with reasonable diligence and promptness when representing a client.

A lawyer must keep the client reasonably informed about the status of a matter.

A lawyer must not knowingly make a false statement of material fact to a tribunal.

The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.

In the first case, Kennedy agreed to represent a client on a contingent fee basis in a civil matter against the City of Aurora in January 2020. However, over the next two years, Kennedy did little substantive work on the case. He failed to make a promised settlement offer or file a complaint on behalf of his client. Kennedy had minimal contact with the client despite many efforts by the client and the client’s mother to communicate. This constituted neglect of the case in violation of Colorado rules regarding diligence and communication with clients.

In the second case, Kennedy filed a medical malpractice complaint without obtaining necessary medical records or consulting with relevant experts. He later filed an amended complaint containing a false certification that he consulted with experts. Kennedy also failed to inform the client about amendments to the complaint, motions to dismiss, dismissing some defendants, or a request for attorney fees from the other side. The case was ultimately dismissed for Kennedy’s failure to properly certify the claim. This violated rules regarding keeping a client informed and prohibiting false statements to a court.

The third case involved Kennedy agreeing to defend a company in a breach of contract case. However, he filed answers without consulting the client, asserted claims without permission, and failed to prepare the client for mediation or disclosure documents. Kennedy then withdrew from the case without informing the client of deadlines, resulting in the waiver of mandatory counterclaims. This constituted further neglect and failure to communicate with a client.

Due to Kennedy’s pattern of neglecting client matters and failing to properly communicate with or inform his clients, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Colorado approved a suspension of Kennedy’s law license for one year and one day, effective December 22, 2023.

According to avvo.com, Mr. Kennedy is a personal injury attorney in Aurora, Colorado. He attended the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, graduating in 2009. He acquired his law license in Colorado in 2012.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.