Clyde & Co is further expanding its Canadian presence by opening in Vancouver after agreeing a merger with local firm SHK Law Corporation.

The Vancouver office will be the UK firm’s third in Canada, adding to existing offices in Toronto and Montreal. The merger will be completed at the start of July. SHK focuses on insurance, construction and professional disputes, with an emphasis on errors and omissions and directors and officers coverage, product liability, construction disputes and commercial litigation. The firm has six partners and 18 lawyers in total, who specialise in advising architects, engineers, actuaries and insurance brokers, as well as owners, contractors and their insurers.

Matthew Kelsall, Clyde & Co’s CEO, said: “In SHK Law, we are joining forces with a firm with whom our existing Canadian offices share a common culture, vision and practice focus. The team has a leading reputation in both insurance and construction which will further bolster our leadership positions in these sectors globally and benefit our clients in Canada, North America and beyond.”

The six partners joining Clyde & Co as part of the merger are litigation lawyer Mark Braidwood; civil litigator William Knutson QC; construction, insurance and commercial litigator Seema Lal; negligence claims and insurance law expert Vanessa Reakes; litigation and dispute resolution lawyer Don Smith; and professional liability and insurance litigation partner Craig Wallace.

Carolena Gordon, chair of Clyde & Co’s North American board, said: “This merger is the crucial next step in our North American growth strategy following a period of consolidation. Merging with SHK not only gives us an on-the-ground presence enabling us to work closely with insurers in Western Canada, but also further deepens our construction offering in a region that has a thriving infrastructure sector and a wealth of natural resources.”

The Vancouver launch follows a number of other office openings in North America and globally in recent months. Earlier in May Clyde & Co opened in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver after hiring insurance partner Amy Samberg and her team from Foran Glennon. It also opened in Munich back in January following the arrival of three senior insurance partners from Norton Rose Fulbright.