BTO Solicitors has appointed a consultant to help it handle more insurance work in Northern Ireland.

James Ferguson will work with the Scottish firm but continue to be a partner at Belfast based Ferguson and Company, which already has a well established insurance practice.

According to bto the move arose as a result of client demand to offer its solicitor advocacy product outside of Scotland.

The firm, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, handles insurance cases ranging from small claims up to multi-million pound investigations.

Its solicitor advocates often appear on their own without instructing other solicitors in order to avoid duplication of costs.

Mr Ferguson, who is a solicitor advocate, will be involved in taking on enquiries from bto which relate to Northern Ireland using the Scottish firm's case system infrastructure and IT capabilities.

He said: "I see working with bto as a great opportunity to bring something new to the Northern Ireland legal market, using bto's efficient systems and participation in its solicitor advocacy product."

Angus Crawford, insurance partner at bto, is qualified to work in Northern Ireland and will also be involved in handling work from there.

At the moment around 60 per cent of bto's business comes from insurance work.

Bill Speirs, head of bto's insurance group, said: "We are delighted to welcome James to bto. My colleagues and I were impressed by his enthusiasm and ambition and think that James will fit well in the bto team."