The merger, expected to be effective from the 1st June, brings together around 100 lawyers, including 43 partners from CMK and more than 975 lawyers from Kennedys, with additional joint staff numbering 750 creating a firm with an enhanced presence across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The merged firm will retain the CMK name in the US and will be known as Kennedys CMK. CMK has offices in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas taking Kennedys’ number of offices to 32 worldwide - which are in addition to its 16 associated offices and co-operations. Kennedys’ existing office in Miami, which provides both US law advice and acts as a hub for claims and coverage issues in Latin America and the Caribbean will also become badged as Kennedys CMK. Kennedys has opened five offices in Latin America since the second half of 2016 in Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

Insurance expertise

CMK’s core business is, like Kennedys, insurance with both firms acting for global and domestic insurers and multi-national corporations. CMK specialises in coverage and defence work including general liability, cyber risk, professional liability, medical malpractice, construction defect, property and casualty, surety and fidelity and reinsurance across all sectors, including marine, aviation and financial lines. It also has significant construction and healthcare practices, and handles commercial litigation, real estate and employment.

Chris Carroll joins board

Chris Carroll, one of the founders of CMK in 1997, will join Kennedys’ Global Strategy Board. Founding Partners Joseph McNulty and Gary Kull will also continue with Kennedys CMK along with managing partner Margaret Catalano.

Client need driving demand

Nick Thomas, senior partner of Kennedys, said: ‘Our growth is always predicated on client need and the global nature of the insurance market means that our clients will benefit from the expertise CMK can offer in the US. Likewise, CMK’s clients will benefit greatly from access to our network of specialists, stretching from Dublin to Auckland, and many points in between.’

Like-minded people

Chris Carroll 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. He added: ‘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.’