Date founded 1834 No. of lawyers 572 Major practice areas General practice | No. of offices 8 No. of employees 1,021 Founded 1834 | |
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Key people UK Managing Partner:Ian MetcalfeUK Senior Partner:Quentin Poole Revenue £120.5 million (2012/13) Founders George Paulson Wragge, Clement Ingleby | ||
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.
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According to The Lawyer 200 in 2011, Wragge & Co was the 23rd largest law firm in the UK. Twenty of its partners featured among Legal 500’s ‘leading individuals’, while the firm was ranked for 41 different practice areas in Chambers UK 2012.
Wragge & Co merged with the London law firm Lawrence Graham in May 2014, forming Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co.
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.
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. Wragge & Co also joined forces with a 10 partner team to open a third affiliated office in Paris.
In 2008 Wragge & Co signed up to take 250,000 sq ft of offices at Two Snowhill, the largest office pre-let in Birmingham. The newly merged Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co relocated its Birmingham office to the brand new development in summer 2014.
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.
Main areas of practice
Wragge & Co specialises in the following legal disciplines: