On 1 June, Ogilvy Renault became Norton Rose OR LLP and Deneys Reitz became Norton Rose South Africa, taking the enlarged Norton Rose Group to 2600 lawyers, including 795 partners, and 39 offices throughout Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, Africa and the Middle East.

The merger will introduce an additional area of expertise for the group, a pharmaceuticals and life sciences practice that will be headed by Toronto-based partner Patrick Kierans.

Commenting on the firm's growth strategy, Norton Rose Group deputy chief executive Don Boyd told Lawyers Weekly that the merger with Ogilvy Renault and Deneys Reitz was an extension of the firm's strategy of "looking at where the clients are going and where the work is emerging".

"Australian companies are already very active both in Canada and South Africa and will continue to be so," said Boyd.

Norton Rose Group will continue to be led by London-based Peter Martyr as group chief executive and Stephen Parish as group chairman.