Kennedys is to merge with specialist aviation and aerospace law firm, Gates and Partners from tomorrow (1 June) after partners at both firms approved the tie-up.

The union, under the Kennedys banner, will allow Kennedys to provide full legal advice to the aviation sector and will strengthen its aviation and liability offering to its insurance and reinsurance clients.

It will take Kennedys' partner count to 176, with 20 partners joining from Gates. Prior to the merger, Kennedys had three partners with aviaition expertise, although this was not their core practice area.

Kennedys senior partner Nick Thomas will continue to lead the merged firm, with Gates and Partners' senior partner Sean Gates to retire this summer.

Talks of the potential merger were first revealed by Legal Week in October last year. 

Thomas said: "Our expansion continues to be predicated on client need and organic growth and this merger enables us to do what we do best: dedicate ourselves to a particular sector and add real value by combining legal knowledge and industry insight. This approach has served us well in several other sectors. It's a powerful combination which adds greater value to our clients' businesses."

Gates added: "I leave the firm in a tremendously strong position; Gates and Partners has carved out a position as the only international law firm wholly dedicated to the aviation and aerospace sectors and it will now be able to grow further, benefitting from Kennedys international platform, wider legal expertise and its strong sector focus."

Kennedys has expanded significantly in recent years, merging with its Dublin associate office O'Hare O'Connor Walshe in June 2011, in the same month that it launched a presence in Brazil through an association with local firm Torres Marcellino & Associados.

The firm also broke through the £100m revenue mark for the first time last year, with financial results for 2011-12 showing a 12.7% turnover increase on last year to reach £109.1m.

Gates and Partners is top-ranked for London and UK aviation by Chambers and Partners and was launched in 2003 by three partners from legacy aviation firm Beaumont and Son – Sean Gates, Adosh Chatrath and Daniel Soffin.