Clyde & Co senior partner James Burns is to step down from his firm-wide leadership role in order to focus on Clydes' expanding US business.

Burns, who has held the global position for three years, takes on the newly created role of head of the Americas from 1 November and will work alongside chief strategy officer William Isaac, who is relocating to the US.

Clydes is expected to announce a senior partner successor to Burns, who already spends much of his time in the firm's San Francisco office, next month.

The new role sees him take on responsibility for the insurance-focused firm's expansion across Canada, the US and Latin America. Burns will remain on the global management board, as well as acting as a relationship partner for a number of clients.

Burns said: "I now look forward to focusing on the highly successful business we have in the Americas, to expand our offering and to build closer connections with our global clients headquartered in or with significant operations and ambitions in the region."

Chief executive Peter Hasson said Burns has been an "inspirational" senior partner. He added: "He has long been one of the architects of our approach to the Americas and having him full time on the ground demonstrates our commitment and ambition for the region, at a time when clients increasingly want their advisers to demonstrate not only international connectivity but [also] real strength at the local and regional level."

In May, the firm launched its first Miami office with the addition of five-partner litigation firm Thornton Davis Fein. Currently, Clydes has 10 offices in the Americas including six in the US, two in Canada and two in Latin America.

Last year Burns told Legal Week the firm is looking to more than double its size during the next 10 years in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In Canada, Burns suggested Vancouver as a likely addition to Clydes' current offices in Toronto and Montreal. In Latin America, Mexico and Colombia are high on the agenda to add to its existing bases in Caracas and Sao Paulo.

During his tenure, the firm has opened 15 new offices including Riyadh, Madrid, Atlanta and most recently, Duesseldorf.

Burns replaced longstanding senior partner Michael Payton, who ran the firm for 28 years, in November 2013.