Famous Birmingham legal name set to disappear with new merger

ONE of Birmingham’s most famous legal names is set to disappear following a merger.

The international law firm created by the merger of Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co and Canadian law firm Gowlings will be known as Gowling WLG.

Wragge & Co was formed when George Paulson Wragge and Clement Ingleby set up their partnership in 1834 at 4 Bennett’s Hill, where the firm stayed for its first 130 years.

The merger creates a firm with more than 1,400 legal professionals in 18 cities across the UK, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

It will enable the firm to offer a broad range of complex cross-border transactions and intellectual property matters to high-stakes litigation and disputes.

The new firm also features a strong focus on key global sectors to provide clients with in-depth experience and expertise specific to their industries, including advanced manufacturing, energy, financial services, infrastructure, life sciences, natural resources, real estate and tech.

David Fennell, chief executive of Gowling WLG (UK), said: “At the core of Gowling WLG is a commitment to helping our clients navigate increasingly complex challenges in a tough business and legal environment.”

“More and more, our clients are looking outward to global markets for new opportunities. They need a law firm that not only has expertise in those markets, but also understands their business and their sector, and can move at their pace.”

On the road to launch, both founding firms have already worked closely together, including on matters in Canada, the UK, China, the Middle East, France, Germany and Singapore. The firms also joined forces to win a global intellectual property mandate from cereal manufacturer Weetabix.

“It’s an exciting time for us at Gowling WLG, and this is only just the beginning,” said Peter Lukasiewicz, chief executive officer of Gowling WLG (Canada).

“Our vision is for Gowling WLG to be one of the top sector-focused law firms in the world – and we plan on adding like-minded firms to our combination in the near future in order to grow and enhance our practice in the sectors, services and geographic regions where our clients need us to be.”