CMS in three-way merger with Nabarro and Olswang

Legal firm CMS, one of the biggest in the sector in Scotland following its 2014 merger with Dundas & Wilson, is to join forces with London-based Nabarro and Olswang in a rare three-way merger that will create the sixth largest practice in the UK.

Now approved by the partners of each business, the deal will create a firm with nearly 2,500 lawyers in the UK, and more than 4,500 lawyers across 65 offices in 36 countries worldwide. with combined UK revenues of around £450m and global revenues of almost £1bn.

Due to complete on 1 May 2017, the merger is the product of talks that go back several months and were confirmed at the end of September.

The combined firm will have a particular focus in the energy, financial services, infrastructure and projects, life sciences and healthcare, real estate, and technology, media and telecoms sectors.

CMS UK senior partner Penelope Warne commented: ”We are delivering the next step to transform the legal services industry. Through this combination, we are delivering a modern firm that combines scale with an exceptional depth of sector expertise. The merger will also have considerable significance for the global growth plans of CMS and is a great endorsement of the extraordinary export of English law throughout the world.”