Wragge & Co

Started in 1834 as a two-partner firm in Birmingham, Wragge & Co LLP was a UK-headquartered international law firm providing a full range of legal services to UK and international clients. Its 126 equity partners and 500 lawyers advised on deals, projects and disputes from the firm's headquarters in Birmingham and offices in London, Brussels, Guangzhou and Munich. Wragge & Co also had affiliated offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Paris.

This article is about the British law firm. For the American sportswear company B.H. Wragge, see Sydney Wragge.
Wragge & Co LLP
HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
No. of offices8
No. of lawyers572
No. of employees1,021
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key peopleUK Managing Partner:
Ian Metcalfe
UK Senior Partner:
Quentin Poole
Revenue£120.5 million (2012/13)
Date founded1834
FounderGeorge Paulson Wragge & Clement Ingleby
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewragge.com

According to The Lawyer 200 in 2011,[1] Wragge & Co was the 23rd largest law firm in the UK. Twenty of its partners featured among Legal 500s[2] 'leading individuals', while the firm was ranked for 41 different practice areas in Chambers UK 2012.[3]

Wragge & Co merged with the London law firm Lawrence Graham in May 2014, forming Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co.[4] in 2016, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co merged with the Canadian firm Gowlings to become Gowling WLG.[5][6]

History

The original Wragge & Co partnership was formed with George Paulson Wragge and Clement Ingleby in 1834. They set up offices at No. 4 Bennett's Hill, within Birmingham's prestigious business quarter. They remained there for 130 years. Following the First World War, Wragge & Co experienced exceptional growth and was considered to be the largest law firm in Birmingham at the time. The partnership merged with Gem & Co in 1935, followed in 1942 by its merger with Crockford & Son. The firm was considered to be at the forefront of technology, being one of the first telephone subscribers in Birmingham.

Some of the firms earliest clients included Lloyds Banking Co, The Birmingham Canal Navigations, and Bishop of Worcester.

Senior partner from 1982 to 1993 was Sir John Patrick Grosvenor Lawrence. He had joined in 1959 and was knighted in 1987. Sir Patrick handed over to John Crabtree (now CBE) who held the post for ten years. Between 1991 and 2002 John's leadership increased the firm's turnover by 650%, from £12 million in 1991 to £77.8 million in April 2002.[7]

Wragge & Co's headquarters were located in Colmore Row, Birmingham

In recent years, to help its strategy of increasing revenue through international work, the firm experienced global expansion with offices opening in London, Brussels, Guangzhou and Munich. As a result of a deal with the company's Saudi financier Mohamed Al Mehairi, a new venture in Abu Dhabi was launched in December 2010, with a second office opening in Dubai the following year.[8] Wragge & Co also joined forces with a 10 partner team to open a third affiliated office in Paris.[9]

In 2008 Wragge & Co signed up to take 250,000 sq ft of offices at Two Snowhill, the largest office pre-let in Birmingham.[10] The newly merged Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co relocated its Birmingham office to the brand new development in summer 2014.[11]

On 11 December 2013 Wragge & Co announced a merger deal with City firm Lawrence Graham to create a new law firm – Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co – effective from 1 May 2014.[4]

Main areas of practice

Wragge & Co specialises in the following legal disciplines:

Awards
  • Winner of the Big Tick for Work Inclusion – Business in the Community's Awards for Excellence 2011, 2012 and 2013[13]
  • 'Best Pro bono Partnership' at the LawWorks Awards 2012[14]
  • One of the Best Workplaces in the UK for 13 consecutive years, Great Place to Work Institute[15]
  • 'Best student marketing campaign' in the TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards[16]

See also

References
  1. "UK200 2011 Contents | The Lawyer". Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  2. "The Legal 500 United Kingdom | The Clients Guide to the best Law firms, top Lawyers, Attorneys, Advocates, Solicitors and Barristers". legal500.com. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. "Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co – Birmingham – Law Firm Profile – Chambers UK 2015 – Chambers and Partners". chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  4. "Historic law firms Lawrence Graham and Wragge & Co to merge – Business News – Business". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  5. "Law firms Gowlings, Wragge Lawrence merge to form Gowling WLG". Reuters. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  6. "Gowling completes merger with Wragge Lawrence Graham". Financial Post. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  7. "Wragge & Co LLP – Law firms, lawyers and solicitors based in Birmingham". lawfirmslawyers.eu. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  8. "UK law firm opens office in Abu Dhabi | Just Go Direct". justgodirect.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  9. "Law and Legal Legal News – Legal News & Events – Wragge & Co plans Paris office -for legal professionals". Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  10. http://www.building.co.uk/news/wragge%E2%80%99s-signs-at-ballymore%E2%80%99s-snowhill/3111733.article
  11. "Work complete at Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co's new home at Two Snowhill – Birmingham Post". birminghampost.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  12. "Construction & engineering | Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co". wragge.com. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  13. "Awards 2013 – Reaccreditations | BITC". bitc.org.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  14. "2012 Awards". lawworks.org.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  15. "Best Workplaces in the UK – Large Category – Great Place to Work® United Kingdom". greatplacetowork.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  16. "Winners 2013 | TARGETjobs Awards". targetjobsawards.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
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