As a dispute resolution lawyer rather than technology expert, Kennedys’ Martin Stockdale may be one of the UK legal market’s more unlikely artificial intelligence specialists. That hasn’t stopped his star as an industry data leader from rising. Indeed, Stockdale is passionate about the benefits of diversity of thought, something that led him to be recognised in both 2021 and 2022 by global collaboration and intelligence platform Data IQ in its top 100 influential leaders list.
Stockdale, Kennedys’ fraud group head, was instrumental in creating technology along with the University of Manchester that complemented his insurance fraud practice and helping spearhead the development of Kennedys’ data capabilities more broadly. His recent focus has been on helping put together Kennedys’ global AI programme which, as he puts it, “will leave no area of our firm untouched”. Expect great things in 2024.