CMS Cameron McKenna

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CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
Headquarters City of London
No. of Offices 16
No. of Attorneys 600+
Major Practice Areas General practice
Revenue ▲ £181.3 (2006)
Date Founded May 1, 1997 (London)
Company Type English limited liability partnership
Website www.law-now.com

CMS Cameron McKenna LLP (sometimes referred to as Camerons or, internally, CMCK) is an international law firm with over 130 partners and offices throughout the United Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe, with branch offices in Bristol (established in 1989), Brussels (1991), Beijing (1993), Bucharest (1999), Sofia (2005), Bratislava (2004), Aberdeen (1993), Budapest (1989), Prague (1991), Warsaw (1989), Hong Kong (1980), Edinburgh (2001), Moscow (1992), Shanghai (2002), and Kiev (2007).

The firm's head office is at Mitre House, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4DD, United Kingdom. The firm has a second London insurance law-focussed office in Leadenhall Street, near Lloyd's of London.

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[edit] CMS organisation of major European law firms

CMS Cameron McKenna is a founding member of the international CMS organisation of European law firms. The organisation's firms are branded with the preface 'CMS' as part of their respective names but remain independent businesses. The acronym's letters derive from two of the founder firms, Cameron McKenna and Sigle (now CMS Hasche Sigle). CMS is an European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) registered in Brussels, Belgium. It is managed by an executive committee.

CMS' member firms comprise:

  • CMS Cameron McKenna (head office in London);
  • CMS Hasche Sigle (Berlin);
  • CMS Bureau Francis Lefebrve (Paris);
  • CMS Adonnino Ascoli & Cavasola Scamoni (Rome);
  • CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo (Madrid);
  • CMS Derks Star Busmann (Utrecht);
  • CMS von Erlach Henrici (Zurich);
  • CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz (Vienna);
  • CMS DeBacker (Brussels).

Through its members, the organisation has 48 offices within Asia, Africa (Casablanca), South America and Europe.

[edit] History

The origins of the firm date back to 1779 and the law practice of T Hewitt.

In 1997 Cameron Markby Hewitt merged with fellow City of London law firm, McKenna & Co, to form Cameron McKenna (renamed CMS Cameron McKenna in 1999). The firms of Cameron Markby and Hewitt Woollacott & Crown had merged in 1989 to become Cameron Markby Hewitt.

CMS Cameron McKenna took over Central and Eastern European law firm Hayhurst Robinson in January 2006.

The firm moved into its Mitre House headquarters in July 1998, near the Barbican.

Henry Markby, a name partner in legacy firm Cameron Markby Hewitt, is alluded to (usually in an unflattering manner) in a number of Oscar Wilde's plays, most notably in The Importance of Being Earnest, when Lady Bracknell says that her solicitors are Markby, Markby and Markby.

Markby, who was President of the Law Society of England and Wales in 1887, had fallen out with Wilde, a former friend for reasons unknown.

[edit] Present day

The partnership incorporated as a limited liability partnership in 2005.

The current Managing Partner of the firm is Dick Tyler. The Senior Partner is Richard Price. The firm has particular strengths in major projects and construction, project finance, oil and gas and real estate work. The firm's other main practice areas include banking, finance and corporate.

In the financial year 2005-06, CMS Cameron McKenna ranked 13th by turnover in The Lawyer's Top 100 list of UK law firms.[1] In the same year, it was ranked 82nd equal by turnover in the The Lawyer's Global 100 list of law firms.[2]

The firm is regarded as one of the leading law firms in Central and Eastern Europe.[who?]

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Lawyer 100
  2. ^ The Lawyer Global 100