Arizona-founded law firms Fennemore and Gallagher & Kennedy (G&K) have agreed to merge later this year.
The combined firm will have nearly 300 lawyers and legal professionals in Phoenix, Arizona, and more than 800 across the wider firm. The merger is expected to complete on 1 December.
Although headquartered and founded in Phoenix, Fennemore has expanded across the west of the US and now has offices in six other states, including California and Texas.
The firm has also absorbed several other firms over the past two years, albeit smaller firms than G&K, including August’s combination with MWSS+ in Boise, Idaho; last December’s tie-up with Schmoyer Reinhard in San Antonio; and the merger with Denver, Colorado-based Galvanize Law in October 2025.
James Goodnow, president and CEO at Fennemore, said the latest merger allows the combined firm to better serve its clients.
“We will certainly fortify existing areas that are strong in both firms, like litigation, business and finance and tax,” he said.
One area where G&K will add most value for Fennemore is its sports law practice. Goodnow also commended G&K’s natural resources group, which he said when combined with Fennemore’s will be one of the strongest of its kind in the western US.
“Our clients will be better served given the talented lawyers that will be joining us from Gallagher and Kennedy, we feel very excited about this,” he said.
For G&K the decision is about adapting to the evolving challenges presented in the legal market. Kevin O’Malley, the firm’s managing partner, said the firm has continued to recognise challenges during its 50-year run, but felt strongly that “in order to continue to provide first-class service to our clients and opportunities for our lawyers looking down the road, we needed to scale up”.
“We’ve watched Fennemore as they’ve grown in the West,” he said. “They are a leader in AI technology. We felt that this was the right combination for us at the right time, and that they are the right partner for the challenges that all of us face going forward.”
O’Malley added that with a firm of just 50 lawyers it is hard to make the level of investment necessary to grow and keep pace with rivals. Investments in technology and AI, especially with national firms opening offices in Pheonix and competing for the best young talent, are particularly expensive. He stressed the move is not about ensuring survival, but is driven by a desire to continue to grow and provide the best service to clients and opportunities to lawyers.
The merger allows Fennemore to significantly bolster its presence in Arizona while allowing G&K access to greater resources.
Both parties confirmed there will be an element of cross-selling following completion, as both are able to share larger clients across newly formed departments and expertise.
They were also “pleasantly surprised” at how few client conflicts arose in the due diligence process.
“We’ve done a number of combinations over the years, and this one seemed to have fewer issues than we’ve seen before,” said Goodnow, despite the fact the two firms are situated opposite each other on the same street in Phoenix.
However, O’Malley confirmed there will be a number of staff redundancies as the two firms combine. While all G&K lawyers were offered a position within Fennemore as part of the acquisition – and while most are expected to make the transition – there is a small amount of duplication in other areas of the firm that will be let go.
“That was the hardest part of this for us,” he said. “Some of those folks I’ve worked with as colleagues for 20, 30 years, and those were the most difficult conversations. We are providing outplacement services, severance agreements and all the support that we can to help get those people in another position.”
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