CMS, Nabarro and Olswang confirm three-way merger

Partners at CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang have voted in favour of a proposal to combine the three firms, creating the sixth largest firm in the world (by number of lawyers) and in the United Kingdom (by revenue). The merger goes live on 1 May 2017.

The new firm will trade as CMS, with the UK LLP name being CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP. The new firm will have nearly 2,500 lawyers in the United Kingdom within a global team of over 4,500 lawyers in 36 countries.

Penelope Warne, 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.”

Andrew Inkester, managing partner of Nabarro, said: “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.” Olswang’s chief executive officer, Paul Stevens, 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.”