Scott Jolliffe, Chair & CEO of Gowlings
One of the largest Canadian law firms, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, is making a bold international push, combining with British-based counterpart Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co., with plans for further expansion.
This tie-up, to be announced Wednesday, will create a large law firm called Gowling WLG. The new firm is set to launch in January, 2016, and will have close to 1,500 legal professionals with a high degree of compatibility in their legal specialties, such as intellectual property.
Gowling WLG will also have a large power-generation practice, with Gowlings bringing strength in nuclear, and WLG in power distribution.
The merger follows other cross-border fusions in the legal profession, as law firms seek new ways to help clients with increasingly global ambitions.
"Canadian companies are looking abroad for growth. This will allow us to serve our clients much better in Europe, in the Middle East and in China," Scott Jolliffe, chief executive of Gowlings, said in an interview. The Toronto-based firm had been pondering international expansion for four years as clients' international needs increased. Gowlings has rebuffed other foreign firms that didn't seem like the right fit for a partnership , and it took more than a year to come to a deal with WLG.
Other Canadian firms have also shaken up the legal landscape with global partnerships in recent years. In 2013, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP entered a three-way merger with European and U.S. firms to create a legal juggernaut called Dentons. That was followed by mergers with a Chinese law firm as well as another U.S. firm earlier this year.
Another globe-straddling firm to make waves is Norton Rose Fulbright, which was formed when London-based Norton Rose and U.S.-based Fulbright & Jaworski united in 2013. That gave Norton Rose's Canadian office – itself a product of mergers – increased access to clients on both sides of the border.
Gowlings already looked to reach a new market earlier this year, with a plan to advise clients looking to invest in Cuba ahead of a possible U.S. tourism boom. And WLG is also the product of recent mergers between two U.K.-based firms.
And there's likely more combining to be done at Gowling WLG, as it plans to look for other law firms to fold into the mix. "This is just the beginning of global growth that will have us finding like-minded partners around the world," Mr. Jolliffe said.
In the deal, Gowlings will gain access to WLG's offices in markets such as Paris, Munich, Dubai, Monaco, Guangzhou and Singapore, which is a region the combined firm plans to build out.
Mr. Jolliffe said there are 30 countries around the world where WLG has what it calls foreign desks, which are organized relationships with other firms, and Gowlings will feed into those. Gowlings already had a presence across Canada with 10 offices, as well as in countries such as Russia and China.
Both law firms already have partnerships with offices in the United States and were reluctant to cut those ties. "We've clearly decided we're not going to merge with a U.S. firm or develop a presence in the U.S.," Mr. Jolliffe said. "We've got very strong relationships with U.S. law firms and we do not want to put those in jeopardy."
As a merger of two similarly sized firms, Gowling WLG will be managed equally through a six-member board – three from each firm – and some co-chairs.
The decentralized firm won't choose a head office, and Mr. Jolliffe will continue to lead the Canadian operations. He said that retention of the national Gowling name and brand was important, both because it is distinct and can be pronounced in many languages.
There are cultural and language challenges ahead, Mr. Jolliffe said, but he added that Canada's multilingual nature could be an asset in overcoming that.
"Together, we look forward to building one of the top sector-focused law firms in the world," David Fennell, chief executive of WLG, said in a statement.
With files from Jeff Gray.