Shennan Kavanagh to Join NCLC as Director of Litigation

February 8, 2023 — Press Release

BOSTON – The National Consumer Law Center is excited to announce that Shennan Kavanagh, the Chief of the Consumer Protection Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, will join NCLC as the next Director of Litigation on February 13.

Kavanagh’s career has been devoted to helping low-income consumers in both private practice and in the public sector. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office in 2015, she was a founding partner of the Boston law firm Klein Kavanagh Costello, focusing on combating predatory and discriminatory mortgage lending and unfair and deceptive business practices. 

“Shennan has tremendous expertise in complex litigation, including a dozen years litigating consumer class actions in private practice and seven years bringing state enforcement actions, and we are delighted she is joining NCLC,” said Rich Dubois, executive director of NCLC. “She has long been a friend to NCLC, co-counseling on class action cases, speaking at our conferences, and contributing to our manuals. Welcoming her as our director of litigation is a wonderful next step.” 

Kavanagh will work alongside and then succeed NCLC’s current director of litigation, Stuart Rossman, who has held the position since it was created in 1999. Rossman announced that he will retire from NCLC at the end of the year.

“I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Shennan on many projects and cases over the past 20 years, and I have been impressed by her intellect, creativity, and passion to use consumer law to help people who have been harmed by predatory businesses,” Rossman said. “Contemplating retiring from NCLC – an organization I love and am dedicated to – is just a bit easier because I know Shennan will so skillfully take up the mantle of our litigation efforts.” 

Last year, Kavanagh was appointed to the Bench Bar Committee of the Massachusetts Superior Court Business Litigation Session. Earlier in her career, she was an associate at Roddy Klein & Ryan, litigating class actions against mortgage lenders, loan services, and debt collectors during the subprime mortgage crisis. 

“NCLC’s work and expertise has long been essential to obtain economic justice for low-income consumers and to empower the lawyers and advocates across the country who fight for consumer protections,” Kavanagh said. “I am honored and thrilled to join NCLC and to help further its mission.” 

Kavanagh is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School and the University of Vermont. She served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Guinea. 

Learn more about NCLC’s work on cutting-edge litigation that seeks to reform the rules of the marketplace.