B.S., University of Virginia; J.D., University of Richmond School of Law
Kennon Poteat is a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP. His practice focuses on litigating complex business matters at the trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts, and before domestic and international arbitration panels. Over the course of his career, Kennon has represented Fortune 100 and Global 500 companies, Am Law 100 law firms, and corporate executives. In recent years, Kennon has played leading roles in numerous hearings and trials, including serving as lead counsel for a space-flight company that successfully secured dismissal of all claims filed against it in court, and then as co-lead counsel in a large commercial arbitration that was successfully tried before a panel of three arbitrators.
Kennon is actively committed to pro bono representation, having represented clients through the D.C. Bar’s Advocacy and Justice Clinic and the firm’s partnership with the Montgomery County, Maryland Public Defender’s Office. In addition to his pro bono work, Kennon serves on the Board of Directors for Gifts for the Homeless, a wholly volunteer-run organization that serves the homeless in the Washington, D.C. area. Kennon also is Chair of the University of Virginia Alumni Association’s Board of Managers.
Kennon was born and raised in Danville, Virginia. He received a B.S. in Commerce, with a concentration in Finance, from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, after which he spent two years in state politics. He graduated first in his class from the University of Richmond School of Law, where he served as an editor on the University of Richmond Law Review. Before joining Williams & Connolly in 2008, he served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Edith Brown Clement, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, and the Honorable Rebecca Beach Smith, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Norfolk.