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Wolfram & Hart

Revision as of 14:36, 1 July 2019 by The Immortal Selene (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎Offices on Earth)
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“Our firm has always been here in one form or another. The Inquisition, the Khmer Rouge—we were here the first time a caveman clubbed his neighbor and watched in fascination as his brains oozed out in the dirt. We're in the hearts and minds of every living human being [...] The world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us.”
―Holland Manners[src]

Wolfram & Hart, Attorneys at Law was a powerful international and interdimensional law firm. Wolfram & Hart, and its many incarnations in other dimensions, was actually a front organization for the Wolf, Ram and Hart, an ancient cabal of demons known euphemistically as the "Senior Partners" who worked through their powerful principal agents—the Circle of the Black Thorn.

Wolfram & Hart branches, such as the Los Angeles branch, were created over unconsecrated ground. As of 2004, the firm had branches in every major city in the world, as well as satellite offices in many areas of the world where they helped spread oppression and evil.

Due to its supernatural nature, branches of the firm could be rebuilt or restaffed rather quickly, such as when the Los Angeles branch was completely destroyed by the Beast. The entire staff—according to Lilah, even employees out sick—were slaughtered and the building heavily damaged. Within days, it was back to operating condition with the entire staff replaced.

Operations

“We are legion. We are forever.”
―Marcus Hamilton[src]

As a law firm, Wolfram & Hart typically defended unscrupulous and detestable clients, including stalkers, mobsters, murderers, and corrupt senators - and those were the mundane ones. The firm also represented a number of demonic individuals and groups, as well as dark arts occultists. While many of their clients were rich or powerful, the firm was also known to work some cases pro bono, especially when it had a secondary interest in the client. Besides its Legal Department, the firm's exploits extended to other areas, thus it maintained departments of Real Estate, Voodoo, Entertainment, Science, Research and Intelligence, and Interment Acquisitions.

Special Projects

In addition to the many legal functions the firm performs, Wolfram & Hart also maintained a Special Projects Division. Special Projects was responsible for a wide range of activities, from sponsoring high-profile charity events with the intention of stealing upwards of 95% of the funds raised, to hiring assassins to kill individuals deemed threatening to the Senior Partners. At the Los Angeles branch, Special Projects devoted a considerable amount of attention to Angel. Prophecies indicated that Angel was destined to play a key role in the Apocalypse, but it was not known which side he would take. The Special Projects division was committed to ensuring Angel would be on their side when the prophecy was fulfilled. Among the resources at the division's disposal was a heavily-armed special operations team, which carried out kidnapping and the like at the firm's behest. Marcus Hamilton claimed that the patent holder of cancer was a client of Wolfram & Hart.

Human Resources

Wolfram & Hart was known for its unforgiving treatment of its employees. It had been reported that the Senior Partners have forced employees to eat their own liver if unhappy with their performance. In another instance, it was reported that several employees were sacked with actual sacks. They have also permitted employees to execute and replace their superiors in light of poor performance. Knox told Fred that on at least one occasion they literally fired an employee. ("He was fired. Oh, no sorry, he was set on fire.")

Every 75 years, the firm conducted a review of its employees. During the Review, a Senior Partner took corporeal form to punish employees who showed unfavorable performance. Many employees lived in fear of the review and, in the days preceding it, did whatever they could to endear themselves to the Senior Partners, including animal and human sacrifices.

The firm also conducted random sweeps of employees, using telepaths to find workers who were disloyal to the company they pledged to work for. When discovered, these individuals were often executed on the spot. However, departmental heads at Wolfram & Hart could use discretion when dealing with insubordination. If a manager thought highly enough of an employee, he or she could decide to forgo punishment in favor of a second chance.

Wolfram & Hart's employees often had a "perpetuity clause" in their contracts, meaning they remained with the firm even after their deaths and could be sent in undead form to perform tasks for the firm on Earth.

Since many of the employees and clients of Wolfram & Hart were non-human, many amenities were offered within the building, including special catering for non-traditional palates; this included blood being kept "on tap" for those who needed it. Presumably human originally, a variety of animal bloods were offered after Angel's group took over operations. All the windows in the building were made of a special glass that blocked the fatal effects of sunlight so vampires could walk around free of worry throughout the day, as W&H maintained relatively traditional working hours.

As mentioned by Harmony Kendall, there were also non-Human resources, although whether this was the official name of the department was unclear.

Offices on Earth

Wolfram & Hart held several branches or "offices" throughout Earth, specially in large cities, such as Rome, New York or Los Angeles, as well as in conflict areas. Many of their offices were exact copies of each other.

  • Wolfram & Hart (Los Angeles Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Rome Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Las Vegas Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Silicon Valley branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Balkans Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (San Francisco Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Chicago Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Boston Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (New York Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Cairo Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Paris Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (London Branch)
  • Wolfram & Hart (Tibet Branch)

In 2004, after being double crossed by Angel, the Senior Partners sent the Los Angeles branch, along with Los Angeles in its entirety, to a Hell dimension. However, the Partners were forced reverse time to before they damned L.A. after Angel was killed; this was because Angel is destined to play a pivotal role in the apocalypse and they want him on their side. When Los Angeles was restored, it was discovered that the Los Angeles branch no longer existed and its site was to be replaced with a Doublemeat Palace. However, the firm's Los Angeles branch was eventually rebuilt and restaffed during the Myresto Mor crisis.

Oddly enough, the Las Vegas branch of Wolfram & Hart was not a law firm, but a casino.

Wolfram & Hart were aware of prophecies predicting a coming dimensional upheaval caused by Twilight. When they learnt that they were not players in the coming apocalypse, the Senior Partners instructed Lilah Morgan to evacuate all branches from Earth's dimension using a space ship fitted for interdimensional transport. The firm also funded the development of the social networking site TinCan using demonic technology in the hopes of creating a lasting gateway back to Earth in the event that the coming crisis resulted in the end of magic and their becoming stranded. Spike pursued them in a pod which had been ejected from their ship to learn more; he was unable to find them.

Wolfram & Hart kept in contact with demons that remained in Earth through TinCan. The site's founder Theo Daniels hired the Slayer private security firm DeepScan to protect him from the firm's assassins. It won the assistance of ancient demon Eldre Koh by promising him the identity of his imprisoner; however, Koh was bested by the Slayers Buffy Summers and Kennedy, leaving the Senior Partners stranded in an alternate dimension.

The White Room

Within the Wolfram & Hart buildings, one could enter "the White Room." This was an interdimensional space that served as a "Conduit" to the Senior Partners. It was the most direct line to them, but it required speaking through an intermediary. The "Room" was accessed by pressing a certain sequence of buttons on an elevator panel. If conditions were met, the elevator doors opened and a blinding light transported the occupants to the White Room.

When it was first visited by Angel, the room was occupied by a small girl named Mesektet, the most malevolent member of the Ra-Tet, a family of mystic beings. When Angel visited the Room looking for the demon Sahjhan, the girl offered a brief history on the demon. When Wolfram & Hart fell under siege by the Beast, Angel and his group found their only refuge in the White Room; they arrived just in time to see the Beast draining the dark energies from Mesektet, killing her. Before her death, she transported the group back to the Hyperion Hotel before the Beast could kill them too.

When the employees of Angel Investigations were offered positions at Wolfram & Hart, Charles Gunn was taken to the White Room as part of his personalized tour. To his surprise, he was greeted by a black leopard; the new Conduit's form was determined by the viewer. During his tenure with Wolfram & Hart, Gunn made use of the Conduit when he had exhausted all other resources. When Gunn visited in search of a way to save Fred Burkle's life, he encountered a mirror image of himself, who viciously beat him for his insolence in using the Room for his own convenience.

Other Dimensions

“I'm familiar with your firm—in this and... Other dimensions.”
―Sahjhan[src]

In addition to its operations on Earth, Wolfram & Hart maintained a presence in a number of other dimensions.

The region of the extradimensional world of Pylea visited by Angel Investigations was ruled by priests known as the Covenant of Trombli. This group possessed a trio of holy texts emblazoned with a wolf, a ram, and a hart respectively. The Covenant was overthrown; however, Angel told Spike that "Wolfram & Hart has branches in every city in the world... And a lot more out of it."[1] Additionally, lawyer Liliah Morgan was able to obtain an unaltered copy of Rhinehardt's Compendium on the pandimensional black market.

Recently, a new branch of the firm was seen by Dawn Summers and Alexander Harris when trapped into the extradimensional world of Anharran. However, this firm didn't allow contact with the Anharrans Demon, preferring to remain hidden.

Prominent Lawyers

  • Holland Manners: Head of Special Projects for Wolfram & Hart until his death.
  • Lindsey McDonald: A promising young junior partner turned co-head of the Special Projects division in the wake of Holland's death. Though he had a habit of switching to the winning team, he left Wolfram & Hart only to come back with a vendetta. He was killed by Lorne.[2]
  • Lilah Morgan: Promoted to co-head of Special Projects with Lindsey, Lilah was always one step behind her co-adviser. When Lindsey left, she was promoted as sole adviser of Special Projects until her death. Following this, she transferred to one the firm's hell branches, eventually rising to the head of the Anharra office.
  • Lee Mercer: A junior partner along with Lindsey and Lilah, Holland had him killed by a Wolfram & Hart security officer after mind readers determined that Mercer was in secret talks with rival firm, Klein & Gabler. He had planned to leave Wolfram & Hart and take clients with him.
  • Nathan Reed: Lilah and Lindsey's superior after Holland's death.
  • Gavin Park: Reassigned to Special Projects from Real Estate, Gavin sought to sully Lilah's reputation. He died when the Beast broke his neck. He was reanimated as a zombie, but decapitated by Charles Gunn.
  • Linwood Murrow: In charge of Wolfram & Hart's operation concerning Angel's allegiance in the apocalypse, he spearheaded the unsuccessful capture of Angel's son. Executed and replaced by Lilah with the approval of a Senior Partner.[3]
  • Charles Gunn: Having been implanted with knowledge of the law, Charles became the head of Wolfram & Hart's legal department.

Clients

Behind the Scenes

File:IMG 5182-medium.jpg

Sony Pictures Plaza in Culver City, Los Angeles, CA was used for Exterior shots of the LA Branch from the first though the fourth seasons of Angel.

  • All of Wolfram & Hart's original lawyers have the initials L.M., though new hires or transfers from other departments do not.
  • Despite being the primary antagonists of the show, almost all the major characters on Angel work for Wolfram & Hart at some point. Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne each take over a division starting in season 5, along with Harmony as Angel's secretary. Additionally, Spike, Faith, Darla, Drusilla, Connor, and Illyria each are hired by or carry out orders for Wolfram & Hart. The only major characters that do not directly work for the company are Doyle and Cordelia; interestingly, these are Angel's two connections to The Powers That Be.

Appearances

References

Template:Reflist

  1. ↑ "A Hole in the World"
  2. ↑ "Not Fade Away"
  3. ↑ "Deep Down"
  4. ↑ "City of"
  5. ↑ "I Fall to Pieces"
  6. ↑ "Sense & Sensitivity"
  7. ↑ "The Ring"
  8. ↑ "Five by Five"
  9. ↑ "Blind Date"
  10. ↑ "Blood Money"
  11. ↑ "Dead End"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Billy"
  13. ↑ "The House Always Wins"
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Conviction"
  15. ↑ "Just Rewards"
  16. ↑ "Harm's Way"
  17. ↑ "Lineage"
  18. ↑ "You're Welcome"
  19. ↑ "The Girl in Question"
  20. ↑ "Power Play"
  21. ↑ "Darla"
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