A regional law firm that concentrates its practice in insurance defense has expanded to Wilmington, according to a news release this week.

The firm of McAngus, Goudelock & Courie, based in Columbia, South Carolina, opened its local office in the Eastwood Executive Suites, 2018 Eastwood Road.

Attorneys Ryan Bisplinghoff and Joshua Engel (at left) are now located in the new office, which opened Monday. Both were previously in MGC’s Raleigh location, which until now has been serving the greater Wilmington area, said Jay Courie, MGC’s managing member, in an interview Tuesday.

“We think Wilmington is a good location, and it’s more efficient for us to have a local presence. Our clients demand efficiency,” Courie said, adding that the firm also wants to expand its geographic footprint and sees opportunities for growth in this area.

MGC works in all aspects of insurance defense, but slightly more than half of its practice focuses on worker’s compensation cases, Courie said. That means the firm is involved when the amount of a claim is out of synch with what payment the insurance company thinks the injury merits.

Another segment of MGC’s practice is to represent, in litigation, drivers insured through client insurance companies, Courie said.

Bisplinghoff earned his undergraduate degree at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his law degree at Campbell University’s Wiggins School of Law. Engel graduated from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and earned his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

The Wilmington office is MGC’s 11th and its fourth in North Carolina. In addition to offices in Asheville, Charlotte and Raleigh, the firm has five locations in South Carolina, one in Mississippi and one in Tennessee.