Clydes brings in Connell Foley trio in boost for litigation practice

Clyde & Co has grown its New Jersey arm with the hire of three litigation partners from local firm Connell Foley.

Bryan Couch, Jeff O'Hara and Matthew Bauer, all of whom are litigators with a focus on insurance, joined the firm last month, taking the number of partners in the office to five.

Couch focuses on business litigation, product liability and tort law, O'Hara specialises in insurance defence litigation and Bauer advises on litigation in transportation, premises liability, product liability and general business disputes.

The trio of hires come after Clydes launched the New Jersey office in February this year with the recruitment of two partners and a team of associates from Connell Foley. The City outfit also has offices in New York and San Francisco.

Clydes New Jersey head Daren McNally said: "We are delighted to welcome Jeff, Matthew and Bryan to the firm. They bring a wealth of experience and will extend the breadth and depth of our US and global insurance offering."

Clydes chief executive Peter Hasson said: "This continues the development of the Clyde & Co US practice. Our US offices have grown by 25% this year and we've since added three partners in New Jersey as well as Bob Ansehl, a corporate insurance partner in New York. We remain committed to growth while focusing on our core sectors and practices. Jeff, in particular, adds a trial capability and is already working for some of Clydes' key clients."

The new recruits take the number of firmwide lateral hires at Clydes in 2010 to 24 so far. Last month Clydes brought in two new partners and one senior consultant in the City from Osborne Clarke, legacy Denton Wilde Sapte and Field Fisher Waterhouse.