# Gowling WLG (UK) LLP - **Type:** Advisory firm - **Website:** https://gowlingwlg.com - **Assessed by:** The Assurance Desk (Add-Venture Advisory Ltd) 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. ## Gowling WLG scores Scored 1 to 5 on six criteria. There is no overall score. ### 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 Every line carries the page it was read on and the date it was checked. - Gowling WLG (UK) LLP is registered with Companies House as a limited liability partnership, incorporated 7 April 2003, status Active. - Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/OC304378 - Checked: 2026-09-19 - Gowling WLG (UK) LLP is a recognised body regulated and authorised for all legal services by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. - Source: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/register/organisation/?sraNumber=382961 - Checked: 2026-09-19 - 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. - Source: https://gowlingwlg.com/en-gb/footer/regulatory-information - Checked: 2026-09-19 - 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. - Source: https://gowlingwlg.com/en-gb/footer/how-we-use-artificial-intelligence-ai - Checked: 2026-09-19 - 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. - Source: https://www.legal500.com/rankings/ranking/c-london/risk-advisory/data-protection-privacy-and-cybersecurity/3617-gowling-wlg - Checked: 2026-09-19 - 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. - Source: https://gowlingwlg.com/en/news/firm-news/2024/loretta-pugh-joins-gowling-wlg - Checked: 2026-09-19 - 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. - Source: https://gowlingwlg.com/en/services/artificial-intelligence-law - Checked: 2026-09-19 ## What this provider publishes Not published means we did not find it on the firm's own pages. - Price: Not published - Indemnity cover: Published - Credentials: Published - Independent accreditation: Not published - Client results: Not published - How it uses AI: Published ## 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 Each one carries the factual basis it rests on. - 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. - Basis: 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. - Basis: 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. ## Where this firm appears - [After a data breach: what UK law asks of you](https://theassurancedesk.com/best/post-breach) - [Does the EU AI Act apply to a UK firm?](https://theassurancedesk.com/best/eu-ai-act-exposed) - [Your sector adds its own rules to UK data protection law](https://theassurancedesk.com/best/sector-regulated) - [Compare providers](https://theassurancedesk.com/compare) --- **Scope.** The Assurance Desk covers data protection, AI governance and cyber security in the United Kingdom and the United States. It scores providers in both: UK-facing firms, and firms based in the United States. Every provider scored so far was selected for data-protection, AI-governance or security-assurance work. Where a page describes law, it names the country that law applies in. **Who publishes this.** The Assurance Desk is published by Add-Venture Advisory Ltd, company number 11854524, registered in England and Wales. The same owner runs Avouch, a marketing agency that sells AI visibility services to firms of the kind this site covers. That is a conflict of interest, and it is disclosed here. **Corrections.** If you represent this firm and something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@theassurancedesk.com with the evidence.