Wragge & Co joins Graf in 'aggressive' US offensive

GERMAN ASSOCIATION: becomes official in the new year

Birmingham-based Wragge & Co is set to embark on a charm offensive in the US following the successful trial of an exclusive association with German firm Graf von Westphalen Bappert & Modest.

The association, in which the two firms will act as a merged firm in relation to commercial conflicts, was formally announced this week after both firms' partners voted unanimously in favour of the move.

But Wragge's managing partner, Quentin Poole, said the association had been running for around five months, and becomes official in the new year.

'We have been working together and seconding people backwards and forwards but we decided not to announce anything - or give our partners something to vote on - until we were confident it would work,' he explained.

Discussions between Wragge's German desk and Graf started 14 months ago.

Formal negotiations began in June this year.

The two firms' corporate lawyers have already worked together on the 11 million management buy-in of Tractiv group, one of Europe's largest distributors of agricultural machinery.

The association will enable Wragges to be 'more aggressive' in approaching firms or potential clients in the US looking for European work, Mr Poole said.

'We will be targeting the intellectual property sector and equally we will be doing some of the work geographically,' he said.

'We have good contacts in Chicago and Atlanta.'

However, the firm stressed that the move does not signal plans for further associations in any other European jurisdictions.

Graf, which has 50 partners, is ranked 18th in Germany's top 50 law firms and works from seven offices in Germany and has plans to open an office in Frankfurt.

Last year, an alliance between Graf and Bristol-based Osborne Clarke fell through.

Chris Baker