Norton Rose Fulbright, continuing its five-year expansion across Canada, will combine with Vancouver-based Bull, Housser & Tupper, both firms announced Monday.

The acquisition of 126-year-old Bull Housser vaults 3,800-lawyer Norton Rose Fulbright towards the top of the regional legal market. Among rival firms up north, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin has 141 lawyers in Vancouver; Borden Ladner Gervais about 120 lawyers; and 94 lawyers at Blake, Cassels & Graydon, according to Business in Vancouver.