Gowling WLG

Gowling WLG

Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [1]
No. of offices	20
No. of lawyers	+1,500 [2]
Key people	David Fennell (Chief Executive, UK) Steve McKersie (CEO, Canada)
Date founded	Gowling WLG merger (2016) Gowling (1877) WLG (1834)
Company type	Company limited by guarantee; separate limited liability partnerships in Canada and UK
Website	www.gowlingwlg.com

Gowling WLG is a multinational law firm formed by the combination of Canada-based Gowlings and UK-based Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co in February 2016.

Gowling WLG is Canada's largest law firm by revenue. ^[3] In the UK, Gowling WLG was ranked 15th in revenue by Legmark in 2020, ^[4] up from 16th in the 2019 edition of The Lawyer's UK 200. ^[5] On the list of largest law firms by revenue, Gowling WLG ranked 74th in the world (US $587.14 million) in 2017. ^[6]

History

Gowling WLG International Limited is an English company limited by guarantee, in which the two limited liability partnerships of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP are members. Legal services are provided by the two partnerships, which are financially separate. ^[7] The structure is similar to the Swiss Verein structure used by several other major international law firms. ^[8]

Gowling WLG (UK) LLP acted as Official Legal Advisers and an Official Sponsor of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, as well as Team England.

Offices

The firm has 20 offices in Canada, the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East, and China. ^[9] The firm also maintained an office in Russia until the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, after which Gowling joined other businesses in departing the Russian market.

Notable professionals and alumni

• Leonard Walter Brockington (1888–1966). Founding chairman of the CBC, 1936-1939; ^[10] Rector of Queen's University, 1947–1966. ^[11]
• Gordon F. Henderson (1912–1993). President of the Canadian Bar Association, 1979–1980; ^[12] Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, 1991–1993. ^[13]
• Roy McMurtry (1932–2024). Attorney General of Ontario, 1975–1985; High Commissioner of Canada to the UK, 1985–1988; Chief Justice of Ontario, 1996–2007. ^[14]
• Ray Hnatyshyn (1934–2002). 24th Governor-General of Canada, 1990–1995. ^[15]
• Ian Scott (1934–2006). Attorney General of Ontario, 1985–1990. ^[16]
• Donald Mazankowski (1935–2020). Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, 1986–1993. ^[17]
• Martin Cauchon (b. 1962). Minister of Justice (Canada) and Attorney General of Canada, 2002–2003. ^[18]
• Lawrence Cannon (b. 1947). Minister of Transport (Canada), 2006–2008; Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada), 2006–2008. ^{[19] [20]}
• Frank Marrocco. Associate Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, 2005–2020. ^[21]

References

1. "Canada's Best Employers 2020". Forbes . Forbes. 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
2. "Law firms Gowlings, Wragge Lawrence merge to form Gowling WLG". Reuters. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
3. Seal, Ben (October 22, 2018). "The Global 200, Ranked by Revenue". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
4. "Top 200 law Firms Ranked - 2024 Digital League Table". Legmark. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
5. "Gowling WLG – What The Lawyer Says". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 2019-02-25. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
6. Seal, Ben (September 24, 2018). "The 2018 Global 100 Ranked by Revenue". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
7. "About the structure of Gowling WLG" . Retrieved 24 February 2016.
8. Mackrael, Kim (8 July 2015). "Gowlings Law Firm to Combine With U.K.'s Wragge Lawrence Graham". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
9. "NEW INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM GOWLING WLG LAUNCHES TODAY" . Retrieved 24 February 2016.
10. Brockington, Leonard (1954). "St. George and Merrie England". The Empire Club of Canada Speeches 1953-1954. The Empire Club Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
11. "Rectors | Queen's Encyclopedia". www.queensu.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
12. "CBA Past Presidents". Canadian Bar Association. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
13. "Past Chancellors of the University". Administration & Governance. University of Ottawa. Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
14. McNish, Jacquie (2007-06-05). "McMurtry's pro bono crusade". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
15. "Hnatyshyn named Chancellor". Carleton University. 2002. Archived from the original on 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
16. Horgan, Mary Ann; Sine MacKinnon (1997-05-30). "Justice deCarteret Cory, Ian Scott, and Mel Lastman to receive honorary degrees from York University". Media Release Archive. York University. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
17. "Rt. Hon Donald F. Mazankowski". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2007-02-05.^{[ dead link ‍]}
18. Bernstein, Hannah (2004-08-17). "Martin Cauchon receives CBA SOGIC Ally Award". Canadian Bar Association. cba.org. Archived from the original on 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
19. http://www.international.gc.ca/ministers-ministres/Lawrence_Cannon.aspx?view=d ^{[ dead link ‍]}
20. Gray, Jeff (2011-10-04)"Lawrence Cannon Lands at Gowlings" globeandmail.com Retrieved 2011-11-14
21. Ontario Courts website

External links

• Official website