K&L Gates, Kennedy Covington Approve Merger
Partners at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis and Charlotte, N.C.-based Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman have approved a planned merger that will be effective July 1.
The two law firms noted that Charlotte is the second-largest financial center in the country and said the merger will benefit both firms, the Legal Intelligencer reports. The combined firm will have the largest presence of any global law firm in the region.
“Our combined firm is now positioned to serve as the Carolinas’ legal bridge to the globalized economy of the 21st century,” said K&L Gates chairman Peter Kalis and Kennedy Covington managing partner Eugene Pridgen in a joint statement.
The North Carolina firm has more than 175 lawyers. The combined firm will have more than 1,700 lawyers in 28 offices here and abroad, according to a press release. It will have the K&L Gates name.
K&L Gates is in an expansion mode. It merged with Dallas-based Hughes & Luce on Jan. 1. It is the product of a merger last year between Kirkpatrick & Lockhart and Preston Gates & Ellis.
