Our history

A leading law firm with historical roots

Wiersholm has roots dating back to 1875, when Supreme Court advocate Carl Unger established his own law practice in what was then Christiania. There is a long and unbroken line from today’s Wiersholm back to Carl Unger, Henrich Steffens, Kristen Nygaard, Gunnar Mellbye, and the other partners in the original firms that eventually became Wiersholm. All the partners were prominent figures in Norwegian jurisprudence in their time, with some indisputably among the foremost.

Today, we are a modern law firm and one of Norway’s largest, with leading expertise in all areas of business law. We have achieved this by assisting significant societal actors, driving academic development, and recruiting the greatest talents and foremost experts.

The formation of today’s Wiersholm

Today’s Wiersholm was founded on August 16, 1990, by all the then partners in the three law firms (i) Wiersholm, Bachke & Helliesen, (ii) Mellbye, Schjoldager, Sejersted, Tenden, and (iii) Bech, Hirsch & co. The firm then took the name Wiersholm, Mellbye, and Bech.

The merger occurred in connection with significant changes in the ownership structure of Norwegian business life. Mergers and acquisitions led to larger units that gradually became more professional users of legal services. The Norwegian economy became more internationalized through increasing foreign investments in Norway and Norwegian investments abroad. Norway’s approach to the EU brought changes in Norwegian legislation. All these changes led to Norwegian law firms needing to significantly increase in size and possess specialized expertise in several industries to be able to compete against law firms in other parts of Europe and the USA.

In 2012, we shortened the name to Wiersholm, and in 2015, the firm moved into our current headquarters in Dokkveien 1 at Aker Brygge in Oslo. In 2022, Wiersholm also expanded with an office at Brattørkaia in the city of Trondheim.