Gowlings
| Limited Liability Partnership (Private) | |
| Industry | Law Firm |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Products | Legal advice |
| Website | http://www.gowlings.com |
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Gowlings) was a leading Canadian and international law firm, with over 700 legal professionals in 10 offices across Canada and in London, Moscow and Beijing. The firm offered full-service legal support in all major aspects of business law, advocacy/litigation and intellectual property law, with expertise in dozens of practice areas and industries.
On July 8, 2015, Gowlings announced that they would amalgamate with UK firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co to create a new international law firm called Gowling WLG. The new firm launched in February 2016.
Gowlings traces its origins to the firm Henderson & McVeity, which was founded in Ottawa in 1887. As the firm grew over the next century, its name passed through numerous permutations, but three figures remained dominant: Gordon Gowling, George and Gordon Henderson. In the 1980s, the firm expanded beyond its traditional Ottawa base, establishing offices in Toronto, Kitchener, and Moscow.
Starting in the mid-1990s, Gowlings methodically solidified a national platform through a succession of mergers with other law firms in Vancouver, Hamilton, Calgary, Montréal and Toronto. The firm eventually adopted the simple brand name "Gowlings" (which had long been in informal use).
1970 - The firm assumes the name Gowling and Henderson (after founders Gordon Gowling and Gordon F. Henderson) in Ottawa
1980 - Gowling and Henderson opens a Toronto office
1986 - Gowlings merges with Simmers, Harper and Jenkins in Waterloo
1987 - Gowlings celebrates 100 years as a law firm
1989 - Gowlings merges with the Toronto firm Strathy, Archibald & Seagram to form Gowling, Strathy & Henderson
1992 - Gowlings opens an office in Moscow serving Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states
1994 - Gowlings opens an office in Vancouver
1995 - Gowlings opens an office in Hamilton
2000 - Gowlings opens an office in Calgary through a merger with Code Hunter
2000 - Gowlings merges with Lafleur Brown of Montréal, and Montpellier McKeen Varabioff Talbot and Giuffre of Vancouver, to become Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
2001 - Gowlings merges with Calgary-based Ballem MacInnes LLP
2001 - Gowlings merges with Smith Lyons LLP, enhancing the firm's IP and business law capabilities, and positioning Gowlings as the second-largest law firm in Canada
2008 - Gowlings establishes new corporate governance model with an Executive Committee and Board of Trustees
2008 - Gowlings opens an office in London, U.K.
2011 - Gowlings opens a representative office in Beijing, China through Gowlings International Inc.
2015 - Gowlings announces that it is joining forces with Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co to create a new international law firm, Gowling WLG, set to launch in 2016
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Wikipedia