McKnight & Kennedy LLC is led by two visionary, experienced Qui Tam lawyers.
Before starting McKnight & Kennedy, H. Vincent McKnight, Jr. was a Senior Partner with the law firm of Ashcraft & Gerel. Mr. McKnight, who was born in Washington, DC, graduated from Brown University in 1975 and received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. After law school, he began a clerkship with Judge William C. Pryor who was then a trial judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. During Mr. McKnight’s tenure as a law clerk, Judge Pryor was elevated to the D.C. Court of Appeals and Mr. McKnight agreed to serve as Judge Pryor’s law clerk in the appellate court.
From 1980 through 1982, Mr. McKnight worked as an associate with the law firm of Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay in the labor department. In August 1982, he joined the law firm of Ashcraft & Gerel.
Mr. McKnight has successfully litigated cases on behalf of plaintiffs in claims involving personal injury, the Federal Employers Liability Act, employment discrimination, and medical malpractice. Mr. McKnight argued and won the case that marked the first time that the D.C. Court of Appeals departed from the employment-at-will doctrine in the District of Columbia.
In addition, Mr. McKnight has represented clients in several cases under the False Claims Act. In 2005 and 2006, Mr. McKnight represented whistleblowers in a series of successful actions alleging that office products companies were illegally selling products from non-compliant countries (China) to the United States Government in violation of the Trade Agreements Act and several General Services Administration (GSA) policies. In 2009, Mr. McKnight and Ms. Kennedy were lead counsel for the Relator who was the Government Contracting Director for Network Appliances (NetApp); this case resulted in the largest GSA procurement fraud settlement in history.
Mr. McKnight authored “Biomechanics of VDT Carpal Tunnel Cases”, Trial (June 1991). Also, he co-authored “Causes of Action by Employee for Retaliation and Reprisal Pursuant to the False Claims Act, 31 USC Section 3730 (h)” Causes of Action 2d 217, Section 2 (West 2003). Moreover, Mr. McKnight has chaired and participated in several panels on the False Claims Act at Taxpayers Against Fraud Conferences and American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) Conventions. He was a member of the faculty at the ABA’s 6th Annual National Institute on the False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement in 2006. Mr. McKnight was the co-founder of the Qui Tam Litigation Sub-group for ATLA.
Mr. McKnight has twice been honored by Law Dragon Magazine as one of “500 Rising Stars” and as one of the “Leading Plaintiff’s Lawyers in America.” Mr. McKnight has consistently received a rating of “AV” by Martindale-Hubble and was selected as one of the organization’s “Best Lawyers in America.” In 2009, Mr. McKnight was honored by The Best Lawyers in America and recognized as a “top DC attorney” in Super Lawyers, a publication of Law & Politics and DC Magazine.
Mr. McKnight is a member of the American Bar Association and the Washington Bar Association.
Altomease R. Kennedy was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her undergraduate education at Goucher College, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Ms. Kennedy attended Georgetown University Law Center, receiving her Juris Doctor degree in 1975.
She began her legal career as a Research Associate for the National Urban League from 1975 to 1976. For the next five years, Ms. Kennedy was a trial attorney in the Litigation and Liquidation Division of the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position, she handled cases throughout the U.S. involving environmental issues, employment discrimination, and challenges to President Jimmy Carter’s stimulus effort— the Local Public Works legislation on behalf of the government. After leaving the federal government, Ms. Kennedy was a member of the Office of the General Counsel for Potomac Electric Power Company from 1981 to 1983. In 1983, Ms. Kennedy joined Ashcraft & Gerel LLP and spent the next 17 years with the firm, advancing to become a partner.
Following a one year stint from 2000 to 2001 as Special Assistant and Counsel to the President of The Village Foundation, she rejoined Ashcraft & Gerel, as Of Counsel, in May 2001. In 2009, she co-founded McKnight & Kennedy LLC.
Ms. Kennedy has successfully litigated cases on behalf of plaintiffs in claims involving personal injury and medical malpractice. She represented Washington, D.C. residential electricity consumers before the D.C. Public Service Commission.
Ms. Kennedy has represented clients in several cases under the False Claims Act. In 2005 and 2006, she worked with Mr. McKnight to represent whistleblowers in a series of successful actions alleging that office products companies were illegally selling products from non-compliant countries to the United States Government in violation of the Trade Agreements Act and several General Services Administration (GSA) policies. In 2009, Mr. McKnight and Ms. Kennedy were lead counsel for the Relator who was the Government Contracting Director for Network Appliances; this case resulted in the largest GSA procurement fraud settlement in history.
A member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Ms. Kennedy was also the secretary of the Qui Tam Litigation Subgroup of the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA). She served as a member of The Advisory Committee to the District of Columbia Bar Foundation for the 1999-2000 year. Ms. Kennedy is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Goucher College, former President of the Board of the Frederick B. Abramson Memorial Foundation, an organization that gives financial aid to D.C. Public School graduates going to college and stipends to lawyers working for public interest organizations. She was past Vice President of the Board of Directors of City Lights School.
Joel Jean-Baptiste, Chief Litigation Technical Support Expert, brings more than a decade of technological acumen and litigation experience to McKnight & Kennedy LLC. He graduated from Boston College in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. In 2006, Mr. Jean-Baptiste received his Master of Science degree in Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University. Before joining McKnight & Kennedy LLC, Mr. Jean-Baptiste was a Senior Paralegal and Litigation Technical Analyst at Ashcraft & Gerel.
Mr. Jean-Baptiste’s unique skill-set has allowed him to develop computer models used in presenting key evidence to the U.S. Department of Justice in Qui Tam claims. He has evaluated and implemented cutting-edge technologies that have contributed to several False Claims case victories. He was the key developer and project manager in a high-profile whistleblower case against several large office supply chain stores. He also worked with Mr. McKnight and Ms. Kennedy on the Network Appliance case—a claim that resulted in the largest GSA procurement fraud settlement in history.
Mr. Jean-Baptiste’s knowledge of the discovery process and electronic filing procedures, combined with his extensive technological skills, make it possible for McKnight & Kennedy LLC to serve their clients in a professional and efficient manner.