Clyde & Co has added a London insurance partner from merger partner Barlow Lyde & Gilbert to the management board of its new Canadian arm.

Roderic McLauchlan is set to join Clydes' Toronto office later this year when he will take up a position on a new seven-strong management board set up in the wake of Clydes' merger with local firm Nicholl Paskell-Mede.

The move, which was agreed before Clydes and Barlows partners voted on their own tie-up, marks a return to Canada for McLauchlan. He trained with legacy Nicholl Paskell-Mede before joining Barlows in 2002, and became a partner 
in 2008.

The remaining board members are legacy Nicholl Paskell-Mede partners Jo-Anne Demers, Robert Emblem and Mindy Paskell-Mede in Montreal and Karen Earl, Graeme Mew and Clydes' firm-wide board member James Burns in Toronto.

Burns said: "Rod joining us in Canada typifies some of the benefits of the merger with Barlows, in the ability we have to combine their strengths in professional indemnity and other business lines with our international network.

"Another aspect of our opening in Canada is our ability to assist Canadian companies internationally and this will be a focus for us going forward."

Clydes has also set up a Canada committee chaired by City trade and energy partner Mike Swangard in a bid to target work from Canadian companies for its other offices.

Clydes agreed its merger with the Canadian firm in June this year, with the tie-up going live from 1 September. The merger with Barlows is due to go live on 1 November, creating an insurance powerhouse with combined revenues of more than £300m.

For more, see: