Kennedys and Carroll McNulty & Kull LLC complete merger creating global insurance firm

We are pleased to announce that we have today completed our merger with leading US insurance firm Carroll McNulty & Kull (CMK), creating a global insurance practice that will offer clients unrivalled coverage and expertise in all their key markets.

The merger brings together around 100 lawyers, including 41 partners, from CMK and over 975 lawyers from Kennedys, with additional joint staff numbering 750, creating a firm with an enhanced presence across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.

In the US only, we retain the CMK name in recognition of its outstanding reputation there, and are known as Kennedys CMK. Now with offices in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas, the merger takes our number of offices to 32 worldwide, which are in addition to our 16 associated offices and co-operations. Our existing office in Miami, which provides both US law advice as well as acting as a hub for claims and coverage issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, will also be badged as Kennedys CMK in due course. We have opened five offices in Latin America since the second half of 2016 – in Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

Our core business remains insurance - acting for global and domestic insurers, and multi-national corporations. Kennedys CMK specialises in coverage and defence work including general liability, cyber risk, professional liability, medical malpractice, construction defect, property and casualty, surety and fidelity and reinsurance across all sectors, including marine, aviation and financial lines. We also have significant construction and healthcare practices, and handle commercial litigation, real estate and employment.

Chris Carroll, one of the founders of CMK in 1997, joins our Global Strategy Board with immediate effect. Founding Partners Joseph McNulty and Gary Kull will also continue with us, along with Managing Partner Margaret Catalano and all other pre-merger lawyers and staff in all offices.

I’m thrilled to complete our merger with CMK, an exceptional firm with an outstanding reputation in the US that shares the same insurance focus as we do. Since announcing our merger plans we have been inundated with positive message from clients wishing us well, which has been particularly pleasing given that all of our growth has been based on client need and support. 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.
Today brings together two very like-minded businesses and marks the start of a truly global insurance law firm. Having established CMK as one of the leading players in the US insurance market, we are excited to work within a strong global infrastructure that provides clients with greater access to services across the world. We’ve worked with Kennedys for over 10 years on some of the biggest insurance cases of recent years. We know that we are joining forces with a firm with ambitions and a reputation to match our own and we look forward to continued growth with trusted friends.