General Biography 
Catherine Hood Kennedy is special counsel to Turner Padget in Columbia, where she practices in the areas of estate planning, probate administration and litigation. The Supreme Court of South Carolina has certified Ms. Kennedy as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers In America and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Ms. Kennedy is also a certified civil court mediator and arbitrator and has an active alternative dispute resolution practice.

From 1987-99, Ms. Kennedy served as Judge of Probate for Richland County. During her tenure with the court, she served on the Nominating Committee of the National College of Probate Judges, and she served on the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges, where she chaired the Probate Code and the Forms Committees.  Twice, Ms. Kennedy served on the Joint Legislative Study Committee, and during her tenure the state legislature amended the South Carolina Probate Code as recommended by the committee. She also served on the task force to study the Uniform Trust Code, which resulted in the enactment of the South Carolina Trust Code in 2005.

For many years, Ms. Kennedy served as the probate court speaker for Bridge the Gap, a program of the Bar, and as the coordinator the annual Probate Court Bench/Bar Seminar. She served on the editorial boards of The South Carolina Personal Representative Handbook (1998); Elder Law in South Carolina (1995); the South Carolina Probate Practice Manual (1990) and the Book of Estate Planning Questions & Answers (2004). She is the editor of the “Handbook for Probate Practitioners,” published in 2003 by the South Carolina Bar. She served on the committee to implement a pilot mediation program in the probate courts and is currently chairing a task force to recommend changes to the South Carolina Probate Code.

Immediately following law school, Ms. Kennedy served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Charles E. Simons, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and thereafter as corporate counsel for Farm Credit Banks of Columbia (now AgFirst).

Bar Admissions 
South Carolina Bar

U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court

Education 

University of South Carolina School of Law, cum laude, J.D., 1981  (Order of the Coif, Order of Wig and Robe, Associate Justice of Moot Court Bar)
University of South Carolina, BA, 1972 with specialization in French language and literature

Professional/Civic Affiliations

South Carolina Bar (House of Delegates;     

    Secretary of Estate Planning, Probate

    and Trust Law Section, Conventions

    Committee, Elder Law Committee)

Estate Planning and Probate Law

    Specialization Advisory Board

American Bar Association - Real Property,

    Probate and Trust Law Section

Chi Omega House Corporation (Vice

    President)

Columbia Rotary Club

South Carolina Women Lawyers Association

Awards 

Elected 2009 as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Selected, 2007-2010 Best Lawyers in America, Trusts and Estates