Kennedys acquires aviation law firm Gates and Partners
Gates and Partners, the specialist aviation law firm, is being bought by Kennedys, a litigation and insurance firm. It will now be known as Kennedys and Sean Gates, who founded Gates and Partners, will retire as a lawyer but continue to work on aviation projects.
Gates and Partners, the specialist aviation law firm, is being bought by Kennedys, a litigation and insurance firm. It will now be known as Kennedys and Sean Gates, who founded Gates and Partners, will retire as a lawyer but continue to work on aviation projects.
Kennedys now has 1,120 employees of which 176 will be partners. The specialist aviation team, now called Kennedys Aviation, comprises of more than 60 people with 20 partners.
Aoife O’Sullivan, who heads the aircraft finance team, will have the same role at Kenneys Aviation. Other lawyers specialising in business jet transactions – including Diego Garrigues, David Chamberlin and Daniel Soffin – are also expected to stay at the merged firm.
Sean Gates widely regarded as one of London’s leading aviation insurance lawyers.
“I leave the firm in a tremendously strong position,” says Sean Gates. “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.”
Sean Gates added: “I’m proud of what Gates and Partners has achieved and I wish Nick and the whole team good luck for the future. As I pursue other opportunities in the aviation industry, I look forward to working in collaboration with Kennedys on other projects.”
Nick Thomas, senior partner at Kennedys, will lead the firm. “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,” says Thomas. “This approach has served us well in several other sectors. It’s a powerful combination which adds greater value to our clients’ businesses.”
As well as the law firm, Sean Gates also launched Gates Aviation, a specialist aviation security and safety consultancy, and Securus, a European aircraft escrow agent.
