Taylor Wessing

Taylor Wessing is a prominent international law firm headquartered in London with a strong presence in the UK and European legal market.

The firm was established in 2002 through the merger of the UK's Taylor Joynson Garrett and Germany's Wessing & Berenberg-Gossler. Taylor Joynson Garrett traced its roots back to 1782, while Wessing & Berenberg-Gossler was founded in 1873, so it’s fair to say the firm has a healthy dose of history behind it.

Today, Taylor Wessing is a modern operation boasting over 1,200 lawyers worldwide, including more than 400 partners. In the UK, the firm has around 100 partners spread across three offices in London, Cambridge and Liverpool.

Its global network, meanwhile, spans 32 offices in 19 jurisdictions across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, giving it plenty of breadth to serve clients internationally. It also has small business offices (i.e. not practising US law) in Silicon Valley and New York.

It has particularly strong ties to mainland Europe thanks to the 2002 merger and serves a broad range of European clients. In Germany alone, the firm has offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich.

Taylor Wessing is big on technology, media and communications, boasting an impressive client list that spans household name brands and the occasional disruptive startup. It says it acts for 32 of the world's top 50 most valuable brands and dozens of startups.

Life sciences is another major focus, especially on patent litigation and regulatory matters for pharma and medical device heavyweights. Meanwhile, the firm’s private wealth team caters to the ultra-rich on everything from global tax structuring to estate planning, with Taylor Wessing having one of the best private client practices in the City.

From its 18th century origins, Taylor Wessing has morphed into a thoroughly modern, international outfit. With its strong sector focus, Taylor Wessing has carved out a strong reputation for clients seeking quality advice in technology, life sciences and private wealth.

Other things to know

Revenue Target: Taylor Wessing’s leaders have set the firm an ambitious target of €1 billion in revenue by 2028/29. The firm’s revenue in 2023/24 was €560 million.

In-house GenAI Tool: Taylor Wessing has its own in-house generative AI tool known as ‘LitiumTW’. Launched in 2024, the tool is powered by ChatGPT and is designed to function as a legal assistant with content generation and document analysis capabilities.

NQ Pay: Taylor Wessing looks to differentiate on pay for its junior associates. In July 2024, the firm handed its newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers an eye-catching 15% pay rise, boosting salaries to £115,000 from £100,000. The uplift moved it comfortably ahead of mid-market rivals like Eversheds Sutherland, Addleshaw Goddard and Stephenson Harwood.

What is Taylor Wessing known for?

Taylor Wessing is a full service corporate law firm, with a strong sector focus on technology and life sciences. It is best known for its expertise in the following practice areas:

Intellectual Property: Taylor Wessing has one of the largest IP teams in Europe, advising clients across a broad range of sectors across all areas - contentious and non-contentious. It is ranked in Band 2 by Chambers for IP work.

Life Sciences: A sector leader, Taylor Wessing advises pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients on the full range of legal matters, including transactional advice, regulatory advice and litigation. It has a Band 2 ranking from Chambers for both regulatory and litigation advice in the sector.

Media and Entertainment: Strong across the board, advising media company and publisher clients across corporate and IP matters. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for advice to publishing clients.

Private Client: Taylor Wessing's private client practice is regarded as one of the best in London, advising high net worth clients on a broad range of matters. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers.

What's Chambers?

We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.

It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.

Who does Taylor Wessing compete with?

Taylor Wessing competes with other sector specialist mid-market firms, including Bird & Bird, Fieldfisher and Osborne Clarke.

Taylor Wessing is the 19th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue. In 2023/24, its revenue was £480 million.

In 2024, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was estimated to be £915,000.

How much does a partner at Taylor Wessing make?

In 2024, Taylor Wessing’s average profit per equity partner (PEP) was estimated to be £915,000.

This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.

This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.

How many trainees does Taylor Wessing take?

Taylor Wessing takes around 25 trainees each year.

Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months. All trainees take on a seat in either corporate and finance, and at least one seat must involve contentious work.