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Dentons 
has hired two top lawyers for its Middle East practice. Ian Dalley, the former legal director of DLA Piper has joined the Abu Dhabi construction practice of the firm and Alex Roussos, Of Counsel of Norton Rose Fulbright has left to join Dentons’ Dubai office.
Dentons has been experiencing quite a bit of movement in its Middle East region. Recently it lost its Middle East dispute resolution head Peter Risbridger and nuclear energy partner Rupert Cowen. While Risbridger is known to have Simmons & Simmons, Cowen is still to announce his destination.
After Dentons was formed this March by fusing the three previous law firms of SNR Denton, Fraser Milner Casgrain, and Salans, the behemoth with 79 offices across 52 countries seems to be going strong, to the surprise of many.
People who swear by traditional law firm structures had speculated, especially with Dewey’s demise in mind, that the entity with 2,600 lawyers from three separate firms would be too unwieldy to remain operable. However, the Swiss Verein structure supporting the move is amazingly flexible and has continued to support, and in fact helped to expand the new entity without any hiccups so far.
While a decentralized firm without any headquarters continues to be a novelty, its success may change the way business is run.
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Dentons is now focusing on strengthening its banking and finance practice in the Middle East and has recently hired Qasim Aslam from Herbert Smith Freehills to act as the head of Islamic Finance in the region.
Dentons is also known to be going for a merger with US law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge, and if that happens supported by the Verein structure, the force may soon be unstoppable.
