CMS, Nabarro and Olswang announce historic merger
Law firms Olswang, Nabarro and CMS UK have announced that they will merge in 2017, creating the world’s sixth largest law firm by lawyer headcount.
Partners from the firms voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of a proposal to combine them.
Olswang released a statement today, October 10, and outlined the terms of the agreement.
The merger, according to the statement, is the “largest merger ever” in the UK legal services market.
Nabarro and Olswang will join CMS UK’s partnership to create a firm which provides clients with an offering driven by technology and sector expertise, the statement said.
The new firm will trade as CMS and the name of the UK limited liability partnership will be CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang.
It will have 65 offices in 36 countries and will cover areas including intellectual property, media and telecommunications, life sciences and technology.
With the addition of Nabarro and Olswang, CMS will have more than 1,000 partners and 7,500 employees.
The merger will complete on May 1, 2017.
Cornelius Brandi, executive chairman of CMS UK said: “We welcome our new colleagues. This is an important and market-leading transaction which strengthens CMS, not only in terms of numbers but also in quality and expertise.”
Andrew Inkester, managing partner at Nabarro, added: “This is a UK legal merger that makes sense. It creates a firm that is more than the sum of its parts, bringing together our market-leading expertise in six strategic sectors.”
Paul Stevens, CEO at Olswang, said: “We are delighted to be a part of this game-changing new business with CMS and Nabarro to form a top-quality, modern law business, which has superior client service and strategic sector alignment at its core.
“Together, we materially strengthen all of our practice areas in the context of a firm with 65 offices worldwide.
“This new partnership will provide our new firm’s clients with a cutting-edge service in our strategic sectors as they grow their businesses and brands in the future,” he added.
