_{ROF hopes they got a bonus for this.}

Gowling WLG has joined the 'lawkward' craze of law firms showing off their offices on social media, even paying Meta to boost its viral chances among wide-eyed students on Instagram.

Leaping on a trend already beaten to death by Hogan Lovells and CMS, the firm pressganged photogenic trainees to use the once-popular ‘of course’ format in a demonstration of the hip and chilled vibe at its head office in Birmingham.

“We’re Gowling WLG, of course we have a statue of Perry the Bull”, begins the post, risking a server crash as millions of kids apply for a training contract at the firm with a Commonwealth Games mascot.

_{It 'ain't bull.}

But that’s just the opener. A relaxed young man in casual garb strolls on screen and utters the immortal line, “We’re Gowling WLG, of course we have a plant wall in our Co-Lab space”.

_{Those collab benches look like guaranteed piles.}

It’s just as well given that the firm recently changed its remote working policy, upping the requirement for lawyers to work in the office from 50% to 60%.

Hammering the similarities between Gowling and Google, a content worker declares, “We’re Gowling WLG, of course we’ve got a breakfast bar”, as she helps herself to one of a dozen pots of beans, nuts, seeds and other healthy, tech start-up-appropriate foodstuffs.

_{'We're Gowling WLG, of course when the camera's off we go straight for the jar of golden syrup and ladle it into our mouths until we're crouched in the corner clutching our tumtums and groaning.'}

“BTW the breakfast bar isn't free”, pointed out a killjoy source whose ‘gram was interrupted by the firm’s boosted post.

Realism makes an unexpected appearance when a man in a bland open-plan office space brags that, “Of course we have stand-up desks” and presses a button to make one of them go up a bit.

_{All this AND a pint of water?!}

More dystopian imagery arrives courtesy of “one of the best views of Birmingham”.

_{It cuts away pretty quickly but don't read anything into that, these posts have to move fast.} 

Then a guy risks redundancy by playing an arcade game in a corridor and claiming, “Of course we make the most of our breaks”.

_{He's playing the hit sequel, Space Invaders: Are Welcome, Hotdesk Where You Like.} 

The finale features the firm’s boast that it’s been recognised as a great place to work for a staggering 23 years in a row, albeit by an organisation it pays each year for a certificate.

_{'Some money changed hands.'}

But maybe there’s something to it. Although Gowling WLG came 50th in RollOnFriday’s Best Law Firms to Work At 2024, its 61% overall score indicated an acceptable level of satisfaction among staff.  

The London office is absent from the promo, but comments from Gowling WLG’s lawyers suggested why it was left on the cutting room floor. In short, it’s a death trap.

“Physical tech is good and the office space is nice” said a solicitor in the City office, but “windows falling out of the building is not great, mind you”.

Parts of the office have been “Fenced off for the past year to stop windows crushing us as we walk in to work. Love it”, said a junior lawyer.

“Great location and awesome views from one half of the office”, said another London worker. “Building is however falling apart with windows literally popping out of their frames meaning that walkways have been closed for years”.     

“London is a bit shit”, confirmed one lawyer, as there was ”always the fear that [I] will die on entry to building, killed by loose glass or a dead pigeon”.

At present the post’s top comments include, "Why is this on my feed🤣 I do need a job tho🤣", while the most liked is, "The best view of Birmingham is from any other city". Perhaps, 'We're Gowling WLG, of course we have piles of bird bodies and falling windows' is what’s needed to break through the noise.

_{A new Eden.}

If you’ve seen a firm putting a few filters on its selfies, and yet still not enough, let ROF know.  

 

 

 

 

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