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The Assurance Desk

Gowling WLG (UK) LLP review

Advisory firm

A UK law firm with data protection, cyber security and AI practices. Legal 500 calls its data team a go-to firm for government, public bodies and international companies.

Relevant if you want data protection and AI lawyers who publish how they use AI themselves

Price Not published
Indemnity cover Published
How it uses AI Published
Facts last checked

Not published means we did not find it on the firm's own pages.

Gowling WLG scores

Six scores, each 1 to 5. The evidence for each is further down.

Help when things go wrong 3/5
Qualifications of the people who do the work 5/5
What it publishes about fees 2/5
Knowledge of your sector 5/5
Independence from what it sells 4/5
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 4/5

What Gowling WLG offers, and what it publishes

Legal 500 UK 2026 calls its data protection team a go-to firm for government departments, public sector bodies and international corporations. Partners Jocelyn Paulley and Loretta Pugh co-lead it; Pugh joined from CMS on 1 October 2024. A separate AI law practice names Paulley and Alexandra Brodie as UK contacts.

Gowling WLG does not publish a price. Its regulatory page explains how to complain about fees but gives no fee schedule, rate card or pricing method. We found no firm-level ISO 27001, ISO 42001, Cyber Essentials or Lexcel certificate, and no measured client outcome for this work.

Gowling WLG says no client data is processed outside UK or European jurisdictions or used to train outside AI systems. The Solicitors Regulation Authority's register shows a solicitor, at the firm when the conduct happened, was referred to the disciplinary tribunal on 16 February 2023 and later struck off. The firm says its indemnity cover exceeds that regulator's minimum.

Strengths

  • Legal 500 UK 2026 ranks the Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity team as a go-to firm for government departments, public sector entities and international corporations.
  • Two distinct, named-partner-led practices, Data Protection and Cyber Security, and Artificial Intelligence Law, each with published practice pages.
  • Publishes a specific 'How we use AI' disclosure stating client data is not used to train external AI systems and is not processed outside UK/European jurisdictions.
  • Professional indemnity insurance disclosed as exceeding the SRA's minimum requirement, backed by a Lloyd's consortium led by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance.

Things to check

  • A solicitor who was at Gowling WLG (UK) LLP at the time of the conduct was struck off the Roll by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in 2023, as recorded on the SRA's own public solicitor register.
  • The firm publishes no fee schedule, rate card, or pricing methodology for its data protection or AI advisory services; its regulatory-information page covers only how to raise a fee complaint.

Common questions

Does Gowling WLG publish its fees for data protection or AI work?

No. Its regulatory page explains how to complain about fees but gives no fee schedule, rate card or pricing method.

Is Gowling WLG regulated?

Yes. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has recognised it since 1 November 2011 and authorises it for all legal services.

How does Gowling WLG use AI with client data?

It says no client data is processed outside UK or European jurisdictions or used to train outside AI systems.

What indemnity cover does it disclose?

It says its cover exceeds the Solicitors Regulation Authority's minimum, through a Lloyd's group led by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance.

Evidence for each Gowling WLG score

Show our working

Notes behind each thing to check

  • A solicitor who was at Gowling WLG (UK) LLP at the time of the conduct was struck off the Roll by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in 2023, as recorded on the SRA's own public solicitor register. (SRA solicitor-check register entry for SRA ID 393949 (Oliver Bretherton), sra.org.uk, confirming referral to the SDT on 16 February 2023 and strike-off following the hearing.)
  • The firm publishes no fee schedule, rate card, or pricing methodology for its data protection or AI advisory services; its regulatory-information page covers only how to raise a fee complaint. (Gowling WLG's own 'Regulatory information' page (gowlingwlg.com/en-gb/footer/regulatory-information), which sets out a complaints process but no published price list for this practice.)
Six criteria, each scored 1 to 5, with the evidence for each.
CriterionScoreEvidence
Help when things go wrong 3/5 Firm advertises breach-response, incident-response and data-breach litigation services and holds a Legal 500 Top Tier ranking, but no specific, verified ICO-enforcement or incident outcome was found in this research.
Qualifications of the people who do the work 5/5 SRA-recognised body (no. 382961) since 2011; Legal 500 UK 2026 Top Tier for data protection, privacy and cybersecurity; partner Loretta Pugh named a Legal 500 Next Generation Partner.
What it publishes about fees 2/5 No fee schedule, hourly-rate range, or pricing methodology for data protection or AI advisory work was found published on the firm's own site.
Knowledge of your sector 5/5 Dedicated Data Protection and Cyber Security practice plus a separate Artificial Intelligence Law practice, each with named partner leads and a Legal 500 Top Tier ranking.
Independence from what it sells 4/5 The firm's public service pages describe pure legal advisory work; no bundled compliance software, tooling sales, or referral-fee funnel was found in this research.
Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong 4/5 PII cover disclosed in excess of the SRA's minimum requirement via a Lloyd's-backed worldwide policy, and SRA regulation gives clients recourse to the Legal Ombudsman.

Sources for Gowling WLG

  • Gowling WLG (UK) LLP is registered with Companies House as a limited liability partnership, incorporated 7 April 2003, status Active. (OC304378) (Companies House, checked 19 September 2026)
  • Gowling WLG (UK) LLP is a recognised body regulated and authorised for all legal services by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. (SRA number 382961, recognised body since 01/11/2011) (sra.org.uk, checked 19 September 2026)
  • The firm discloses professional indemnity insurance in excess of the SRA's minimum requirement, provided by a Lloyd's consortium led by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, with worldwide territorial coverage. (PII cover in excess of SRA minimum; Lloyd's / Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance) (gowlingwlg.com, checked 19 September 2026)
  • The firm's published AI-use disclosure states client data is not processed outside UK/European jurisdictions and is not used to train external or publicly available AI systems. ("no client data is processed outside of UK/European jurisdictions"; "no client data is used to train external, or publicly available, software systems") (gowlingwlg.com, checked 19 September 2026)
  • Legal 500 UK 2026 ranks Gowling WLG's Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity team, co-led by partners Jocelyn Paulley and Loretta Pugh, as a go-to firm for government departments, public sector entities and international corporations on data protection issues. (Legal 500 UK 2026 ranked practice) (legal500.com, checked 19 September 2026)
  • Loretta Pugh joined Gowling WLG on 1 October 2024 as Partner and Co-lead of Data Protection and Cyber Security (UK), having been a partner at CMS for over six years. (Partner appointment, 1 October 2024) (gowlingwlg.com, checked 19 September 2026)
  • Gowling WLG's Artificial Intelligence Law practice page names Jocelyn S Paulley (Co-leader, Data Protection and Cyber Security sector, Birmingham) and Alexandra Brodie (Partner, IP Litigation, London) as UK-based contacts. (Named AI Law practice contacts) (gowlingwlg.com, checked 19 September 2026)
  • Trustpilot: Trustpilot lists a Gowling WLG page (gowlingwlg.com) rated poor, roughly 2 to 2.4 out of 5 from a small base of 10-15 reviews; the large majority are 1-star and describe severe delays and unresponsiveness on private-client matters such as conveyancing and probate deeds of variation, not the firm's data-protection or AI advisory practice, alongside two positive reviews praising litigation/tribunal work. The profile is unclaimed and the firm has not replied to any review. (Trustpilot, checked 20 September 2026)

SRA-recognised body, number 382961, recognised since 1 November 2011 (stated on sra.org.uk)

Regulated sectorsExposed to the EU AI ActAfter a breach or ICO contact

Where this firm appears

If you represent this firm and something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@theassurancedesk.com with the evidence.

This is an independent editorial guide, not legal advice.