Norton Rose Fulbright is launching an international trade treaty practice following the UK's vote to leave the European Union (EU) last summer.

The practice, which is expected to launch at the end of the month, will comprise 20 lawyers including around 10 partners across the firm's global network.

Its primary aim in London will be to help clients engage with the UK government on trade treaty negotiations. The group will offer legal advice on matters including World Trade Organisation (WTO), bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), trade treaty negotiations and trade disputes. It will work closely with the firm's existing practice in export controls, sanctions and investor-state arbitration.

The firm's global head of competition Martin Coleman, who is based in London, has spearheaded the initiative, although he will not be one of the partners within the new practice group.

City competition partner Mark Simpson has been named as London practice head. Simpson started his career in the New Zealand government service, where he gained experience advising on trade-related issues, including work related to the Doha Round of WTO negotiations launched in 2001.

Simpson said: "Once the UK's trade policy becomes clear, and the direction of the UK-EU trading relationship become clear, there will be a lot of work.  We expect to see most of that in helping clients engage with government to input into trade negotiations but we also see this practice evolving. For example, there will be advisory work, and there will be disputes under WTO process and also disputes concerning new trade deals in the longer term."

He added: "We already have significant trade expertise in a number of key locations involving people who have negotiated major trade deals. This provides a global umbrella that includes a UK perspective."

Simpson joined Norton Rose as a senior competition associate in 2008 from SJ Berwin, and spent seven months as competition senior counsel for Telefonica UK before returning to Norton Rose as of counsel in 2013 and making partner the following year.

Elsewhere in Europe, Brussels and Frankfurt based competition partner Michael Jurgen Werner will be Brussels practice head. City disputes partner Paul Stothard, who has experience of investor-state disputes, and Brussels competition partner Jay Modrall, will also have key roles in the practice.

Additionally, the firm has hired Millie Miranda Rojas, who has more than 15 years' experience working as a diplomat in the Peruvian civil service, as a full-time consultant based in London. Rojas, who joined the firm in mid-December, will be regional head for South America. She was previously policy director at the World Coal Association for just over a year. Before that, she worked as a Peru representative to the WTO and as a negotiator on several FTAs, including agreements between Peru and the EU, South Korea, the European Free Trade Association and Japan.

Elsewhere, Ottawa competition partner Martin Masse and Washington international trade sanctions head Steve McNabb will lead the practice in North America, while Sydney corporate partner Martyn Taylor will be regional head in Australia.

In addition, Derek Burney, senior strategic adviser to the firm in Ottawa, will also hold a key role in the practice. Burney was involved in the negotiation of the Canada-US FTA signed by both countries in 1988. He also served as Canada's ambassador to the US between 1989 and 1993 and played a central role in the negotiations that led to the North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the US in 1994, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.

Regional leaders for Africa and Asia will be announced shortly.

The news comes amid an uptick in client demand for legal advice related to trade matters. Senior City partners told Legal Week shortly after the Brexit vote in June that UK firms lack the expertise to help the government negotiate new trade deals.

One of the reasons behind the shortage of domestic experts is that the EU has exclusive competence to handle trade matters, including trade negotiations, on behalf of the 28 member states.

In an effort to address this, some UK firms have reshuffled their EU and competition practices and hired academic trade experts. Earlier this month, Pinsent Masons recruited Jones Day competition partner Alan Davis to head its EU and competition practice, amid plans to expand it post-Brexit.

Late last year, Clifford Chance hired international trade expert Frederico Ortino to boost its Brexit advisory capability in London. Ortino is consulting for the firm on a part-time basis while continuing in his role as a lecturer for King's College London.

More recently, Linklaters hired Lorand Bartels, reader in international law at the University of Cambridge, as a part-time consultant. Bartels has also been appointed a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on international trade.

Separately, Norton Rose has hired former PwC board member and COO John Berriman as its new global COO. Berriman, who replaces Mark Whitley, had a 40-year career with PwC, where he held a number of roles including senior partner.

In other management changes at the firm, Norton Rose also elected Daryl Lansdale as its US managing partner in October. Lansdale stepped into the role on 1 January, replacing Linda Addison.