Dave Kenny Hamilton council vice president Dave Kenny sits at his desk inside his Quakerbridge Road law firm in July. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Dave Kenny’s love of history leads him to law
For Dave Kenny, it all started with the Civil War.
The Hamilton Township councilman has always thought of himself as a history buff, reading writings by Winston Churchill in his spare time, carefully studying the Civil War and calling Abraham Lincoln a childhood hero.
Kenny decided at a young age to pursue a career in law, and it was Lincoln, he said, who inspired him.
“Lincoln was always profiled as this uneducated person, but he was obviously very, very bright,” Kenny said. “He was a very successful attorney in his time when things were much simpler than they are today in terms of the law and society.”
Kenny was often drawn to the judiciary side of historical events, beginning with his interest in the Civil War. This soon stemmed into an appreciation for current events, which he developed as a teenager. He recalls being particularly interested in the lawyers present during Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon’s presidencies.
“When I was young, I had always read a lot of history,” he said. “It seemed like so many figures were lawyers. Even as a young child, I just thought being a lawyer was something I wanted to do. Even reading American histories about the New Deal and those things, there were so many lawyers around.”
Kenny, 59, is township council vice president, and one of eight candidates for council this November. He has served on the board for nine years, and he currently practices law with his Hamilton-based firm, Hartsough Kenny Chase & Sullivan.
After graduating from Steinert High School in 1972, Kenny attended Lafayette College, where he earned a degree in English. He initially intended to major in government and law, thinking that it would be beneficial once he went to law school. An “outstanding” and critical English professor changed his mind.
“He was so interesting, I decided to become an English major,” he said. “I think that was very helpful. The ability to read things closely, to be very careful in your writing are important in law. The English profs would tear a paper apart. It wasn’t just grammar, but just the whole thought process that they wanted you to engage in. It was very good training for law school and becoming a lawyer.”
After graduating in 1976, Kenny went on to study law at Villanova University. He also worked part-time for a law firm in Philadelphia, where he learned some of the more practical aspects of practicing law. Most of his experience, though, came after graduation, when Kenny came back to New Jersey to take a clerkship under judges Richard Barlow and Daniel O’Donnell of the Mercer County Superior Court.
“Clerking and working in a courtroom with them was very helpful and shaped a lot of my views on trial work and how things should be handled,” Kenny said. “They were different in personality, but they were both very helpful in teaching you things as you worked for them. Judge Barlow heard all criminal matters. Judge O’Donnell heard civil matters. It was nice to get perspectives on both.”
It seems Kenny has now taken on the role of teacher himself.
“It’s been excellent working with him,” current partner Ed Sullivan said. “He taught me a great deal about how to approach law. He was always good at keeping his eye on the bottom line.”
From there, Kenny joined and eventually became a partner with the firm of Schragger Schragger & Lavine in Lawrenceville. He has also worked as a municipal lawyer, representing Hopewell Township and what is now Robbinsville Township. He then joined Paul Ennis and current partner Mike Hartsough to form Hartsough Kenny & Ennis.
Ennis subsequently became a judge. Kenny and Hartsough joined a larger law firm in Trenton for a year before deciding they liked working for themselves better.
At that point, Sullivan joined Kenny and Hartsough. It’s been 20 years.
“Dave is the most even-tempered guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Sullivan said. “He’s just a great guy. In law, you make some mistakes when you’re first starting off. He just deals with things as they come. It’s been very good to work for him.”
Kenny, a lifelong Hamilton resident, wanted to stay local when starting his firm. Establishing his firm in Hamilton meant that he was never too far from his wife Susan and daughters Sharon, Kristin and Laura, who are now 28, 26, and 24, respectively.
“It’s good in terms of lifestyle,” he said. “I live about five minutes from here, so I was always able to see my kids play sports or do any school activities. Being your own boss, you can also do things like go on school trips.”
Kenny mostly does trial work. He represents everything from individuals to small companies and practices construction, employment, personal injury and commercial litigation. He said he has no plans to pursue a seat on the bench as a judge.
“It’s been a great partnership,” he said. “It’s been pretty stable. We’ve had some interesting work over the years. It’s very rewarding.”
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