International law firm Kennedys, whose core practice is insurance, is merging with US insurance firm Carroll McNulty & Kull (CMK) to create a global insurance practice.
The merger, due to become active on 1 June, brings together about 100 lawyers, including 43 partners, from CMK with more than 975 lawyers from Kennedys, along with about 750 support professionals. The firm will have 32 offices worldwide, on top of 16 associated offices and cooperations, and a presence across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Post-merger, the firm will be known as Kennedys CMK in the US. Elsewhere, it will be known as Kennedys.
Chris Carroll, a founding partner of CMK, said: “In just 20 years, CMK has established itself as one of the leading players in the US insurance market, but to build on this growth we now view our future strategy as one that extends internationally, and this merger supports that.
“We’ve worked with Kennedys for over 10 years having worked together on some of the biggest insurance cases of recent years. We know that we are joining forces with a firm with ambitions and a reputation to match our own. We are really looking forward to continued growth with like-minded people and, as importantly, with friends.”
Nick Thomas, senior partner at Kennedys, said the merger was “a meeting of minds. We know each other well, as colleagues and friends, and are confident that our cultures will integrate to the benefit of all. Clients will see immediate benefits from working with a global firm and they have been overwhelmingly positive in their support of this merger.”
