Duane Morris Government Affairs has scooped up GSP Consulting Corp. The combined shop, which will be called Duane Morris Government Strategies, is part of an effort to expand in the nation’s capital and in state capitals such as Harrisburg, Pa.

The merger will take effect Jan. 1.

“When you sat down and looked at it on the map, the combination of the two firms with the affiliated law firm, in the end it was one plus one equals three or greater,” said Joe Kuklis, CEO of GSP Consulting, who will be managing director of the new firm. “We’re going to have a combined practice in D.C., which should mean 80 to 90 clients.”

Kuklis said the new operation will do appropriations, policy and regulatory work. “We’re also growing practices in areas related to contracting, procurement and grass-roots lobbying and grant-writing,” he added. “As we grow, we’ll be looking to add staff in D.C.”

Once the deal is complete, the combined firm will have 12 people who work out of the D.C. office at least part of the time.

“The formation of DMGS allows Duane Morris to offer an expanded slate of services and wider geographic scope to clients seeking sophisticated advocacy and support,” Duane Morris Government Affairs’ Eric Martins said in a statement.

Kuklis said the two firms had very few client conflicts.