Gowling WLG

Gowling WLG is a multinational business law firm with approximately 1,500 lawyers working through more than 20 offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the Middle East and China. The firm was established in 2016 when Canada-based Gowlings combined with the United Kingdom-based Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. The combination created an international legal practice with a Canadian base, a substantial UK presence and capabilities spanning transactional, contentious and regulatory work. The firm's historical roots extend considerably further than its current name. The predecessor organizations associated with Gowlings and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co trace their histories to 1887 and 1834 respectively. Gowling WLG therefore presents itself as both a modern cross-border platform and the successor to long-established legal practices in Canada and Britain. Its work covers corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, capital markets, litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property, construction, energy, infrastructure, real estate, employment, competition, international trade and public-sector matters. The firm organizes much of its market activity around industries that require complex legal and regulatory advice, including life sciences, financial services, energy, infrastructure, government, technology, real estate, natural resources and automotive. Gowling WLG is particularly associated with intellectual property, patent and trademark work, construction, corporate transactions and energy matters. External legal directories and industry publications have recognized the firm with leading rankings in several of these practices, including top-tier placements in Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 and Managing IP. Such rankings are practice-specific rather than a statement that every office or service line holds the same market position. The organization operates through Gowling WLG International Limited, an English company limited by guarantee. Legal services are delivered by two financially separate limited liability partnerships: Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP. This arrangement resembles the international verein-style structures used by other global law firms, allowing the Canadian and UK practices to cooperate internationally while retaining separate financial and legal identities. The firm also has a visible profile in public and community-facing work. Gowling WLG (UK) LLP served as an Official Legal Adviser and Official Sponsor of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and supported Team England. The firm maintained a Russian office until the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, after which it joined other businesses in leaving the Russian market. Its workplace culture has also been promoted through Great Place to Work certification and recognition in UK workplace rankings. As of 2025, reference material describes Gowling WLG as Canada's largest law firm by lawyer count or revenue-based national ranking, the United Kingdom's fifteenth-largest law firm and the world's eighty-eighth-largest by revenue. These comparative rankings depend on the methodology and reporting period used. The firm's core identity remains that of a private, international business-law network serving companies, governments, financial institutions and other organizations in cross-border and highly regulated sectors.

Gowling WLG was formed in 2016 through the combination of two established business-law practices: Canada's Gowlings and the UK's Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. The transaction was intended to create a broader international platform capable of serving clients across North America, Britain and other commercial centers while preserving the participating practices' local legal identities. The resulting organization adopted the Gowling WLG name and became one of the most prominent Canadian-origin international law firms. The new firm inherited long institutional histories. The predecessor firms associated with Gowlings and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co trace their origins to 1887 and 1834 respectively. Those histories connected the organization to generations of Canadian and British legal practice, including corporate advice, public law, litigation, intellectual property and commercial transactions. Before and after the combination, professionals connected with the predecessor practices included senior lawyers and public figures such as former Canadian ministers, provincial attorneys general, judges and other public officials. Their careers illustrate the historical relationship between the firms and public institutions, although they are not treated here as current Gowling WLG executives. The 2016 combination also established the firm's distinctive legal structure. Gowling WLG International Limited is an English company limited by guarantee comprising two limited liability partnerships, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP. The partnerships provide legal services and remain financially separate. This structure permits international cooperation, shared branding and coordinated client service without treating all offices as a single financial partnership. It is comparable in broad design to the verein-style models used by several other international law firms. Following its creation, Gowling WLG developed a network of more than 20 offices across Canada, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the Middle East and China. Its practice expanded around sectors where legal, commercial and regulatory questions overlap, including financial services, life sciences, energy, infrastructure, government, technology, real estate, natural resources and automotive. Rather than specializing in one narrow legal discipline, the firm positioned itself as a full-service business-law provider with particular depth in selected practices such as intellectual property, construction, corporate law and energy. The firm has received repeated recognition from legal-market publications. Reference material describes top-tier or leading rankings in Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500, alongside Tier 1 intellectual-property recognition in Managing IP's IP Stars and awards associated with patent and trademark work. It has also promoted workplace credentials, including Great Place to Work certification and recognition in UK workplace rankings. These distinctions have helped support its positioning as a large, established international firm rather than merely a collection of local practices. A notable public-facing engagement came in the run-up to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Gowling WLG (UK) LLP became an Official Legal Adviser and Official Sponsor of the event and supported Team England. The relationship connected the firm's UK practice with a major national sporting event and provided a platform for demonstrating its legal and institutional role in Birmingham and the wider UK market. The firm's international footprint was affected by geopolitical events in 2022. Gowling WLG maintained an office in Russia until the invasion of Ukraine, after which it left the Russian market. The departure reflected a broader withdrawal by international professional-services businesses from Russia, but the available reference material does not specify the legal terms, timing or financial consequences of the closure. By 2025, reference material characterized Gowling WLG as employing approximately 1,500 lawyers and as the largest law firm in Canada, the fifteenth-largest in the UK and the eighty-eighth-largest worldwide by revenue. Those rankings are dependent on the measurement used and the relevant reporting period. The firm's continuing model is an international, private and full-service legal network combining Canadian and UK foundations with cross-border sector expertise.

• 2025

  Reported global rankings

  [1]Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material describes Gowling WLG as Canada's largest firm, the UK's fifteenth-largest and the world's eighty-eighth-largest by revenue, based on the relevant ranking methodology and period.

• 2022

  Birmingham Commonwealth Games partnership

  [1]Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org

  Gowling WLG (UK) LLP served as an Official Legal Adviser and Official Sponsor of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and supported Team England.

• 2022

  Departure from Russia

  [1]Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org

  The firm left the Russian market after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• 2016

  Formation of Gowling WLG

  [1]Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org

  Gowlings and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co combined to form the international firm now known as Gowling WLG.

• 1887

  Origins of a Gowlings predecessor

  [1]Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org

  The Canadian predecessor tradition associated with Gowlings traces its history to 1887.

• 1834

  Origins of a Wragge predecessor

  [1]Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org

  One predecessor practice associated with the later Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co tradition traces its history to 1834.

International, full-service business law firm with strong Canadian and UK platforms and sector-focused cross-border capabilities.

• Legal services

  Corporate and commercial law

  Advice for companies, investors and institutions on corporate organization, commercial agreements, transactions, mergers and acquisitions and related governance matters. The practice is part of the firm's full-service business-law offering and is delivered across its Canadian, UK and international platforms.

• Legal services

  Litigation and dispute resolution

  Contentious legal services covering commercial disputes, litigation and dispute-resolution proceedings. Gowling WLG presents this work as a core component of its business-law platform, supporting clients whose disputes involve contracts, businesses, infrastructure, regulation or other complex commercial issues.

• Legal services

  Intellectual property

  Patent, trademark and broader intellectual-property services for businesses and institutions. The firm's IP practice is one of its most prominent market offerings, with reference material citing Tier 1 placements in Managing IP's IP Stars and recognition for patent and trademark work at the Global IP Awards.

• Sector legal services

  Energy and infrastructure

  Legal advice for energy, infrastructure and related public-private or regulated projects. The offering draws on transactional, regulatory, construction, financing and dispute capabilities, reflecting the firm's focus on sectors involving substantial assets, government participation and long project lifecycles.

• Legal services

  Construction and real estate

  Advice on construction projects, real-estate transactions, development and associated disputes. Construction is identified in the reference material as one of the firm's leading practice areas, while real estate is among its principal sector focuses.

• Sector legal services

  Financial services

  Legal and regulatory support for banks, financial institutions, investors and other participants in financial markets. The service line may draw on banking, finance, corporate, regulatory, litigation and technology expertise across the firm's international network.

• 2022Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games partnership

  United Kingdom · England

  Gowling WLG (UK) LLP acted as an Official Legal Adviser and Official Sponsor of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and also supported Team England.

  Outcome. The partnership associated the firm's UK practice with a major sporting and civic event in Birmingham. The reference material does not provide a quantified commercial outcome.

  Source

• 2022

  Exit from the Russian marketStrategy

  Background

  The firm had maintained a Russian office before Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted many international professional-services organizations to reassess their Russian operations.

  Action taken

  Gowling WLG departed the Russian market.

  Aftermath

  The firm continued operating across Canada, the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East and China. No financial effect is specified in the available material.

  Source

• 2016

  Combination of Gowlings and Wragge Lawrence Graham & CoM&A

  Background

  The Canadian and UK predecessor firms sought to create a broader international business-law platform while maintaining separate local legal entities.

  Action taken

  The practices combined under the Gowling WLG brand and adopted an international structure consisting of Gowling WLG International Limited together with separate Canadian and UK limited liability partnerships.

  Aftermath

  The combination produced a multinational firm with more than 20 offices and approximately 1,500 lawyers across multiple regions.

  Source

1. 1Gowling WLGen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Gowling WLG official websitegowlingwlg.com