DLA Piper to merge with Canada's Davis LLP

TORONTO (Reuters) - Law firm DLA Piper is expanding into Canada, merging with Davis LLP, the two firms said in a release on Monday. Davis, which was founded in Vancouver in 1892 and has seven offices across Canada and an associate office in Tokyo, will become DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. Areas of focus include energy and natural resources. Formed in 2005 with the merger of three firms based in the United States and the United Kingdom, DLA Piper operates in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. It has about 4,200 lawyers, while Davis has more than 260. When Canada's Heenan Blaikie shut down last year, DLA Piper discussed recruiting more than 50 lawyers from the firm's Toronto and Calgary offices to create DLA Canada, but never reached a deal. The combination with Davis is effective April 2015. (Reporting by Allison Martell; Editing by James Dalgleish)