History

Wikborg Rein began in 1923 when the 28 year old Erling Wikborg established a one man office in downtown Oslo. His first clients were in the maritime law and marine insurance business, and these remained the firm's main areas of practice through the 1960s and 1970s.

Partnership

Towards the end of World War II, Erling Wikborg met the Norwegian resistance fighter Alex Rein in Stockholm. Rein was in Sweden illegally, and the two men agreed that Rein would join Wikborg's firm after the war was over and Rein had completed his work prosecuting war criminals. In 1945 Rein joined the firm, and in 1947 he entered into partnership with Erling Wikborg.

Kobe

In 1965 Erling C. Hjort was given $ 10,000 and instructions to start an office in Japan. After three months of research, he decided to set up shop in the port city Kobe. Since its beginnings, the office has been working primarily with shipping, but the practice areas have expanded over time to include building contracts, sale and purchase, (especially second-hand tonnage), as well as more general assistance to Norwegian and Japanese firms. The office has always employed one attorney, and the current representative is the firm's fifteenth.

Rotterdam

Rotterdam was considered an important port city, and Wikborg Rein established an office there in 1971 in cooperation with Nordic colleagues, under the name Scandinavian Law Office. The purpose was to assist already existing Norwegian clients in Rotterdam. After 16 years it was decided to move the office to London.

London

The London office was established in 1987. Today the London office is operated exclusively by Wikborg Rein and employs two lawyers, lead by partner Morten Lund Mathisen.

Singapore

Wikborg Rein’s business association in Singapore dates back to 1996. Due to increasing business relating to the Singapore area Wikborg Rein decided to establish an office in 2000. Our Singapore office is following the expansion of our clients’ business into the rest of Asia. Our principal practice areas in Singapore are shipping, ship finance and legal services to the offshore industry. Pan Asia Law Corporation (“PALC”) is a Singapore law practice that was established in October 2007. PALC entered into a formal law alliance (“FLA”) with the Wikborg Rein Singapore branch. Thus the alliance will be able to assist Wikborg Rein’s clients in cross-border transactions involving both Norwegian and/or English law and Singapore law - a genuine “one-stop shop”. 

Bergen

In 1978, offices were established in Bergen. Today the office consists of 38 lawyers, and focuses primarily in the areas of shipping, banking and finance, as well as litigation and dispute resolution.

Shanghai

Wikborg Rein is represented in Asia with lawyers in Kobe, Singapore and from 2002 also in Shanghai, China. In addition to one Norwegian lawyer, Wikborg Rein also has four Chinese lawyers with expertise and experience in Chinese law. Yafeng Sun was Wikborg Rein's first foreign lawyer employed at one of the foreign offices.

More than shipping

From 1999 to 2002, Wikborg Rein expanded by fifty percent. Although its roots are in shipping, today the firm has extensive expertise and experience in several other important areas. This has lead to a specialisation within 6 different industry areas. These are shipping/offshore, banking/finance, natural resources, trade/industry, it/media/telecom, real estate, corporate finance and litigation/dispute resolution. In addition to these eight groups, every lawyer is connected to a practice group that keeps up to date on legal issues and developments. The combination of expertise, experience and business understanding, means the lawyers of Wikborg Rein are uniquely qualified to meet challenges and develop new business possibilities for their clients.

Partners

Wikborg Rein has 185 lawyers, of which 58 are partners. The first female partner was Susanne Munch Thore, who was appointed partner in 1993. The firm has continuously employed lawyers from the five top percent of the graduating law students, and is committed to a diverse workforce.

English law expertise 

In 2002 Wikborg Rein became the first Norwegian law firm to hire English law expertise on senior level. Stephen W. Fordham left Watson Farley and Williams, and entered into the partnership of Wikborg Rein. Fordham today leads the firm's English Law team, which consists of seven persons.