Clyde & Co has sealed a merger deal with Canada's Nicholl Paskell-Mede (NPM) following a vote at the firm's partner conference last weekend.

The move, which will mark Clydes' first presence in the country, will take effect on 1 September this year, when the Canadian insurance boutique's offices in Montreal and Toronto will rebrand as Clyde & Co.

Clydes City insurance partner and board member James Burns has been heading up the launch, which will see Clydes gain 40 lawyers in Canada, including 15 partners.

NPM was founded in 1992 as a boutique firm focusing on insurance and professional and civil liability defence work.

Burns said: "Our international strategy over the last five years has been focused on expansion into jurisdictions where our clients are already doing business – Canada is another example of this approach. In addition, the region has had few if any economic problems, is English speaking and operates largely as a common law jurisdiction.

"This will not be the end of the story, and we intend to look west to Calgary and Vancouver in due time to take advantage of opportunities in the energy, mining and marine sectors, but as yet we have no firm plans."

The merger will add to Clydes' existing North America presence, where it has offices in New York, New Jersey and San Francisco, while the move will almost double the firm's partner count on the continent from a current total of 21.

The firm announced in March this year that it had engaged the former senior partner of Canada's Stikeman Elliott, Senator David Angus QC, to help with its plans.

The news comes ahead of the firm's potential merger with rival UK insurance outfit Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.

The firms currently appear likely to approve a deal as soon as July, with the resulting tie-up likely to go live later this year, creating a legal practice just outside the UK top 10 with combined revenues of over £300m.

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