Clydes launches New Jersey insurance practice

3 February 2010 | By Matt Byrne

The firm has hired two partners from US firm Connell Foley including the former chairman of its insurance coverage group Daren McNally. Partner Barbara Almeida and a team of Connell Foley associates have also joined Clydes.

The firm said the decision to open in New Jersey with an insurance industry-focused office was “the next stage” in Clydes’ strategy to develop and expand its practice in the US.

The firm already has offices in New York and San Francisco.

Clydes board member James Burns said the arrival of McNally and Almeida would strengthen the range of services the firm was able to offer the international insurance market both worldwide and in the US, particularly in the field of Bermuda Form arbitrations.  

McNally advises major international insurers in the US, Europe and Bermuda in insurance disputes while Almeida’s practice focuses on complex insurance and reinsurance litigation.

McNally said: “Joining Clyde & Co gives the New Jersey team the opportunity to develop its practice at a rapidly growing international law firm with the insurance market at its heart.

“The new office enables us to offer a high-quality coverage and monitoring practice on the East Coast and further deepens our relationships with a number of significant international insurance clients of Clyde & Co.”