and teams up with Graf and Kemmler in Brussels

Wragge & Co and German alliance firm Graf von Westphalen launched a joint Brussels office last month. The two firms now share a building with EU law boutique Kemmler Rapp Bohlke, with which Graf already has a cooperation agreement and Wragges will also work.
According to Wragges senior partner Quentin Poole, the joint office will enable the Wragges-Graf alliance to handle merger clearances on major M&A deals with the support of Kemmler. The three firms together have around 20 lawyers in Brussels.
Kemmler is the only firm of the three to have partners stationed permanently in Brussels. The other two firms have domestically-based partners who visit the office regularly.
The Wragges-Graf alliance has yet to handle a European Commission M&A notification, but has handled several Anglo-German notifications. Graf managing partner Barbara Mayer said her firm would "decide on a case-by-case basis which of the firms would handle notifications, depending on the expertise required".
The decision to launch the joint office, which was prompted by the fact that Graf's Brussels lease was ending, was taken as part of the alliance negotiations between Wragges and Graf.
Meanwhile, Graf is currently holding discussions on the regulatory problems it will face as a result of its multidisciplinary merger with Hamburg accountancy firm Busch & Partner. Mayer said the current thinking is to limit clients to either consultancy and legal advice or to audit services. Busch already offers primarily tax and consultancy services.