Stites & Harbison attorney Nancy Kennedy received the 2026 Ladder Award from the Connecticut Bar Association at the Pathways to Leadership for Women Lawyers event on March 5 in Plantsville, Connecticut.
The award recognizes women attorneys who have mentored and supported other women in the legal profession. Established in 2007, it is given to a distinguished woman attorney who has “left the ladder down” for others to follow.
Kennedy is a partner at Stites & Harbison’s West Hartford office and focuses her practice on intellectual property law. Her work includes trademark clearance searches, opinions on availability and registrability, prosecution of applications before federal agencies, and representing clients in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She also helps protect clients’ brands by recording registrations with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In addition to her legal practice, Kennedy has contributed to legal education as an adjunct professor and Visiting Professor from Practice at the University of Connecticut School of Law for over ten years. She has served as Supervising Clinical Attorney at UConn Law’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic as well as its Animal Law Clinic. Kennedy also serves as a pro bono court-appointed Animal Advocate Attorney.
The recognition highlights Kennedy’s commitment both to her profession and her community through mentorship, teaching, and public service.
