K&L Gates Eyes Kennedy Covington

K&L Gates is talking with Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, a 175-attorney business and real estate law firm in North Carolina.

The Kennedy firm could join with 1,500-lawyer Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis by July 1 if all goes well, according to a joint press release. Together, the two firms would have 28 offices.

"Charlotte is the second-largest financial center in the United States, and both K&L Gates and Kennedy Covington have strong orientations toward servicing clients from the financial services industry," the release says.