International law firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) has welcomed new business development director Andrew Warren, to its team.

Andrew, who joins from DLA Piper, where he was head of marketing operations, takes up his new role with immediate effect.

Since joining DLA Piper in 1997, Andrew has gained significant experience working at a strategic level across all aspects of professional services marketing, carving out a successful career to date.

Throughout his 18 years at DLA Piper, Andrew has been heavily involved in brand and general business development, client relationship management and several international mergers, helping to transform the law firm into one of the largest in the world today.

Welcoming Andrew on board, CEO David Fennell said: “With the firm’s strategy heavily focused on our clients, sectors and growth, Andrew’s proven expertise and previous achievements within these three key areas will play an integral part in helping us achieve our goals.

“Our combination with Canadian law firm Gowlings is now very much on the horizon and having Andrew on board significantly bolsters our existing senior support capability. His knowledge and experience will not only help us to implement our strategy, but will also help shape our overall positioning within our relevant markets.”

Andrew commented: “It’s an exciting time to be joining WLG . Its ambition and appetite to grow into a leading sector-focused global law firm to keep meeting the needs of its clients, is very clear. I’m very much looking forward to being part of the team, helping to take the firm’s ambitions forward.”

Andrew will share his time equally between WLG ’s London, Birmingham and international offices.

From mid-January 2016, WLG will be known as Gowling WLG. The combination, confirmed in July, will create a top 100 global law firm with over 1,400 legal professionals in 18 cities worldwide. At the core of Gowling WLG will be a focus on providing world-class legal expertise and multi-jurisdictional support in key industry sectors. These include real estate, life sciences, manufacturing, power generation and distribution, projects and infrastructure, mining and oil & gas, and technology and communication.