Insurance specialist Kennedys is merging with US firm Carroll McNulty & Kull to add 43 partners to its offering.
The merger, effective from 1 June, will add five offices to Kennedys global network including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas. One of CMK’s founding members Chris Carroll (pictured right) will join Kennedys global strategy board, and founding partners Joseph McNulty and Gary Kull, along with managing partner Margaret Catalano will join the firm.
Kennedys senior partner Nick Thomas (pictured left) 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.’
Kennedys has opened five offices in Latin America since the second half of 2016 – in Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
At the start of this year, longstanding senior partner Thomas was re-elected to serve a fifth five year term, which commenced in February.
In his time as senior partner, Thomas has overseen the firm’s growth into an international insurance player, with offices in locations including Sydney, Hong Kong and Miami.
Recently the firm has also opened offices in Russia and Denmark and formed associations in Norway, Sweden and Argentina. In March, Kennedys hired a 24-strong casualty claims team from Hill Dickinson’s Sheffield office, resulting in the closure of the latter’s operations in the region.
The team, which will bolster Kennedy’s Sheffield office, consists of three partners and 21 support staff. The partners leading the group are Alan Dury, Suzanne Wilkinson and Paul Bedford, who all joined Hill Dickinson from DLA Piper in 2013. Collectively, they specialise in defending casualty claims related to disease and catastrophic injury matters.
victoria.young@legalease.co.uk
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