Kenneth M. Perry
Kenneth (“Ken”) Perry received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989. He remained there, graduating from law school with honors in 1993, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for graduates in the top 10% of their classes. During law school, Ken served on the North Carolina Journal of International Law & Commercial Regulation. He also was awarded a Masters of Arts in City & Regional Planning in 1993, completing the course work and requirements for that degree concurrently with his law study. Ken’s degree in City and Regional Planning provided him invaluable, advanced study of economics, statistics and finance.
Ken Perry’s legal career started in 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama in the litigation group at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, an Am Law 200 regional law firm based in that city. Ken earned equity partnership at Bradley on January 1, 2000, and remained in that capacity his entire career until the end of 2017, when he formed Ken Perry Law Firm, LLC, a boutique complex/commercial litigation firm. Over the years Ken has been recognized by Chambers USA, “Super Lawyers,” “Best Lawyers,” and as a “Benchmark Litigation Star.” His peers also rated him “AV Preeminent,” the highest recognition available by Martindale Hubbell, the oldest lawyer rating service in the U.S. Ken is a member of the Products Liability Advisory Council. In addition, he is a member of the Litigation Council of America. Moreover, Ken was previously recognized by Savoy Magazine, profiling the “Most Influential Black Lawyers” in the United States.
Ken’s legal practice focus remains in the area complex litigation, including products liability, medical malpractice, and commercial litigation, primarily for Fortune 500 and multi-national entities. In his career, he has often found himself defending companies against civil claims in the most challenging venues in the United States. He has never flinched at such opportunities; indeed, a notable career success came early when he successfully defended an international tire manufacturer in a wrongful death and catastrophic brain injury case pending in rural Alabama. The defense verdict was the first for a corporate defendant in that county, and the verdict was featured by the National Law Journal as one of the top defense verdicts of that year nationally. At KPLF recently, Ken’s successful jury verdicts have included high-stakes cases involving tortuous interference (defense), chemical release (commercial plaintiff), and retaliatory discharge claims (defense). Ken’s recent jury trial experience at KPLF also includes a multi-million dollar personal injury/wrongful death products claim that resolved during the second day of jury deliberations after a multi-week trial. Ken’s recent litigation experience at KPLF additionally includes successful negotiation of numerous settlements on behalf of defendants in other high-stakes cases, including a nine-figure claim by a southern city against a technology company.
Ken has always been regarded as a trailblazer and therefore, despite the rewards of a successful career at Bradley, he decided that starting his own law firm was the natural progression for him. Nevertheless, Ken takes pride in the progress he helped Bradley achieve over the years, including progress in the area of diversity. Indeed, Ken remains an advocate for lawyers coming from underrepresented backgrounds, as he recognizes that “but for” his faith and the assistance others afforded him, he would not have transcended his own humble origins.
Ken’s wife, Tonya, is the provost at Miles College in Birmingham. Ken and Tonya have one child (Karolyn), a lawyer in private practice in Nashville, Tennessee. Ken serves as a Deacon at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham. His other recent civic involvement includes service on of the boards of directors for the Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (treasurer) and the National Conference for Community and Justice (chairman). Ken is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi.
