Firm mulls unions with outfits in Germany, Canada, Australia, SA and the Far East

Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham (LG) will seek a global merger once their own tie-up goes live on 1 May.

In an exclusive interview with Legal Week, Wragges senior partner Quentin Poole said a merger with an international practice or practices was on the cards. The firms are thought to be interested in the model adopted by Norton Rose Fulbright and Dentons, both of which have expanded rapidly through a series of combinations.

"Both firms will be more attractive now we have a bigger proposition in the UK and we are very open minded about a global merger," said Poole. 

Poole said a union with a German firm was a "real possibility" and that discussions with some practices were already underway. 

He added that tie-ups in Canada, Australia, South Africa or the Far East had potential if they were "up for grabs". Wragges currently has a best-friends relationship with Canadian firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson.

According to Poole, any German deal would be similar to that which saw Wragges launch in Paris in 2010 by hiring a 10-partner team from its French referral firm Lefevre Pelletier & Associes.

The merger between LG and Wragges will create a £171m business with 1,300 staff, including 770 lawyers, operating from 10 offices worldwide: Birmingham, Brussels, Dubai, Guangzhou, London, Monaco, Moscow, Munich, Paris and Singapore. The new firm will be known as Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co.

The new management structure will see Wragges' managing partner elect, David Fennell, become chief executive. Poole will remain in his senior partner role and LG senior partner Andrew Witts will take up the position of chairman. LG managing partner Hugh Maule will become a practice group leader and will sit on the firm's board.

Wragges has also recently appointed several new practice group heads, including Adrian Bland (real estate), Davinia Gransbury (dispute resolution), Jason Coates (London managing partner) and Michael Luckman (corporate, commercial, finance and projects). However, it is expected that there will be some changes to the roles once the merger goes live.