Photo courtesy of Law.com.
Summary: Dentons is combining with seven law firms around the globe.
The world’s largest law firm is getting bigger. On Thursday, Dentons announced that it was merging with seven other global firms, bringing its lawyer headcount to over 9,000, according to the company press release.
Dentons is combining itself with seven elite firms located in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. According to Big Law Business, “The new additions involve a firm in Kenya, two law firms in Mauritius, two law firms in the Caribbean — one each in the Cayman Islands and Barbados — a law firm in Indonesia and a seventh firm in Malaysia.”
The seven firms are Hamilton, Harrison & Mathews in Kenya; Mardemootoo Solicitors and Balgobin Chambers in Mauritius; Dinner Martin in the Cayman Islands and Delany Law, based in Barbados; Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners in Indonesia; and Zain & Co. in Malaysia.
Dentons’ global chairman, Joseph J. Andrew, told Big Law Business that Dentons wanted “the ability to connect the client with the right expertise and in the right place — anywhere.”
In recent years, Dentons has expanded at a rapid pace, but unlike competitors, it seems to not be slowing down. Andrew added that the firm would continue to expand.
“New specialties arise all the time, and we want to make it efficient for clients to deal with one law firm for all their needs,” Andrew said.
In 2015, Dentons merged with McKenna Long & Aldridge, and two years later, it merged with Macclay Murray & Spens in Scotland. After that, the firm has aggressively expanded by combining itself with law firms in countries such as China, Myanmar, Peru, and Uganda. According to Big Law Business, “Dentons has merged or made other arrangements with around 40 firms in 73 countries.”
Elliot Portnoy, the firm’s global CEO, said that Dentons is growing faster in Latin America and the Caribbean more than anyone else has before.
“We are growing faster in Latin America and the Caribbean—and with truly high-quality firms—in a way that no one has ever done before,” Portnoy said. “Our new offices in Mauritius and Kenya complement our growing pan-African presence, coming on the heels of our expansion in neighboring Uganda just last year. And our expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia builds on our presence in Singapore and Myanmar in the dynamic South East Asia region.”
Big Law Business noted that Dentons did not meet its financial expectations in 2016 and it asked the firm whether it saw layoffs in the future. In response, Andrew said that the firm only fell behind that year by 3.3 percent.
The seven firms that will be added to Dentons focus on areas such as banking and finance, corporate, dispute resolution, real estate and tax, and infrastructure. The law firm combinations will start later this year.