The partners of CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang are to combine their firms and create what will become the world’s sixth largest law firm by lawyer headcount.
Nabarro and Olswang will join the CMS UK partnership in a merger that will be the largest so far in the UK legal services market. Partners have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the merger, now due to complete on 1 May 2017, and the combined firm will also be the sixth largest in the UK by revenue.
Nabarro was ranked as a tier one firm for commercial property in the recent Legal 500 2016, while CMS was in tier two and Olswang in tier three. As a result, the combined firm will become one of the major players in real estate.
The new firm will trade as CMS, and the name of the UK LLP will be CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP. With the addition of Nabarro and Olswang, CMS will have over 1,000 partners and over 7,500 employees across 65 offices in 36 countries around the world, with combined revenues of circa £450 million in the UK and revenues well in excess of €1.2bn globally.
Penelope Warne, the senior partner for CMS UK said: “This is an important merger for our clients and for our people. For our clients we want to be a firm that delivers excellence, industry knowledge, thought leadership, and the exceptional talent that will help to meet their needs in a complex and changing business environment. And for our people, we want to be a firm that is dynamic, progressive, technology-led, with a good culture which supports diversity and inclusion and all aspects of our colleagues’ careers. We believe that if we can deliver on this vision we will be an even more successful, world-class firm.”
Stephen Millar, managing partner for CMS UK, added: “The combination of CMS, Nabarro and Olswang presents a unique opportunity for us to create a new City of London and UK powerhouse, building on CMS’ deep City heritage and impressive international footprint. The close match in culture and values, supported by the mutual respect of the leadership teams for the combining firms, and their extraordinary market expertise were key aspects in the creation of this new firm and we look forward to welcoming our new partners next year.”
