'A force of nature': Tributes flood in for 'superb' Kennedys partner who has died at 41

A much-loved and highly talented senior partner has died aged 41 following a long illness, her firm has announced.

Tributes have been paid to Katherine Proctor – known as Kat – who joined Kennedys in 2018 in its London office and was co-chair of its international arbitration group.

Chambers described her as ‘simply superb’ and Kennedys said former colleagues and clients will remember Kat ‘not just for her professional excellence but for her infectious personality – fun, fearless and a proud Geordie lass whose smile lit up the room’.

Nick Thomas, Kennedys senior partner, said: ‘I am still struggling to accept that we will never see her again. She had so much more to give and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.’

Suzanne Liversidge, global managing partner, added: ‘Kat was a tremendous force of nature in every way. She was a truly outstanding lawyer whose commitment to Kennedys was delivered with unparalleled tenacity and passion.

‘So many people have reached out to express their sadness at the news and I hope that her family will take comfort in the fact that Kat made such a positive impression on those who knew her, worked with her and loved her as a colleague and a very dear friend.’

Kat studied law at Northumbria University where she was awarded two prestigious prizes for her work. She graduated in 2003 with a first-class honours degree.

She worked first for Ince & Co then Clyde & Co, before joining Kennedys where she regularly handled multi-million-pound claims and co-chaired the firm’s international arbitration group. Proctor specialised in insurance, reinsurance and general commercial dispute resolution (litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution), working primarily on complex, high-value and multi-jurisdiction disputes.

She also acted for commercial clients in relation to UK and international contractual and tortuous disputes. She was involved in a number of high profile and commercially sensitive matters, as well as a multitude of cases involving fraud.

An accredited mediator by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), she was also in CIArb training to become an arbitrator. She was an executive committee member of the International Fine Art and Specie Insurance Conference and a member of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers.

She was a daughter of Margaret and Tom, twin sister to Helen and aunt to Jack and Olivia. Donations, if desired, can be made to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity at this link.