About Maureen
Personal Bio
Maureen is an accomplished trial lawyer specializing in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Born in Seattle, Maureen was raised in rural Washington as the eldest of five siblings. As a teenager, Maureen moved to Shiga, Japan, where she attended one year of public high school, as the only non-Japanese student. This transformative experience led Maureen to return to Asia after college, to work in Japan and Korea as a teacher. Through these early life experiences, Maureen developed a curiosity about the world and a flexibility to acclimate to different environments and cultures. Her adaptability and love of meeting people from varied backgrounds continues to serve her today, both in and out of the courtroom.
Maureen began her legal career as a medical malpractice lawyer, defending medical facilities and hospitals across California, Oregon, and Washington. Driven by an interest in medicine, she excelled in the field. Over the years, however, she could no longer ignore the growing feeling that her work defending corporate interests was causing more harm than good. When Maureen met her current law partners, Brian and Adam, she was ready to make a major change. Maureen was so inspired by their dedication to clients and “old school” approach to case workup that she quit her job and joined their firm (then “Savin & Bursk”). She has not looked back since.
Notably, Maureen’s first two jury trials produced exceptional, outlier results: a $613,300 verdict in a minimal property damage, single epidural case, followed by a record-setting $18.79M verdict in a slip and fall/spine injury case against McDonald’s (the largest slip and fall verdict in the country that year).
These cases were tried back-to-back within one month.
Maureen’s switch to plaintiff’s work was met with early success, beginning with her very first case: a 78-year-old woman who sustained a concussion when hit in the head with an unsecured tent pole at a community event. In the span of just six months’ time, the lawsuit was filed and settled for $2M. This success set the stage for numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts in Maureen’s first years of practice as a plaintiff lawyer.
Fueled by a competitive energy and deep commitment to her clients, Maureen litigates and tries cases throughout the country. She maintains a highly selective caseload to ensure each client receives the personalized attention they deserve. In 2024, Maureen proudly joined Adam J. Savin and Brian J. Kim to establish Savin, Hennessey & Kim (“SHK”) Law. Together, they aim to restore a “quality over quantity” ethos to the practice of personal injury law.
In The Media
We are proud to announce that SHK Law partner Brian J. Kim has contributed his expertise to the transformative new book, "Witness Preparation: How to Tell the Winning Story" by Jesse Wilson, now available for purchase from Trial Guides.
We are proud to announce that SHK Law partners Brian J. Kim and Maureen K. Hennessey were recently featured in a Daily Journal article highlighting their groundbreaking $18.79 million verdict against a Los Angeles County McDonald's.
We are proud to announce that SHK Law partners Brian Kim and Maureen Hennessey were recently featured in a Trial Guides webinar, where they discussed the methods they used to secure a groundbreaking $18.7 million jury verdict in a slip-and-fall case in November 2022.
SHK Law is proud to announce that two of our founding partners, Brian Kim and Maureen Hennessey, secured an $18.79 million jury verdict in a slip and fall case in Santa Monica, California, back in February 2023, while they were attorneys at Savin Bursk Law.