Dentons

Multinational Law Firm

Dentons

Headquarters| Decentralised,[1] largest offices in London and New York
No. of offices| 160[2]
No. of lawyers| 5,600+
Key people| Kate Barton
(Global Chief Executive Officer)
Nicholas Howon Park
(Chairman of the Global Board)
Revenue|  $2.899 billion (2019)
Profit per equity partner| $1.07 million (2018)
Date founded| 28 March 2013 (By the three-way merger of SNR Denton, Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain)
Company type| Swiss Verein
Website| dentons.com

Dentons is a multinational law firm based in the United States. It was founded in March 2013 by the merger of SNR Denton, Fraser Milner Casgrain and Salans. The Dentons name originally belonged to Denton Hall, a law firm based in the City of London founded by Samuel Denton in 1788 that merged with fellow City of London firm Wilde Sapte in 2000 to form Denton Wilde Sapte, which subsequently merged with Chicago-based Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal to form SNR Denton in 2010.[3][4] As of November 2024, the London office remains Dentons' largest office by number of attorneys, with the New York office following behind in second place.[5]

As of April 2023, Dentons operated in 80+ countries and had 160+ offices. The firm has no headquarters, although the firm's senior leadership are primarily based in London, New York and Washington, D.C. Dentons is structured as a Swiss verein called the Dentons Group, which does not itself provide legal services.[6] The Swiss verein structure encapsulates multiple cooperating legal entities, namely Dentons Canada LLP, Dentons Europe LLP, Dentons UK and Middle East LLP, and Dentons US LLP, amongst others.

In March 2023, Joseph Andrew stepped down as the Global Chairman of Dentons, which was a position he held since the three-way merger of SNR Denton, Fraser Milner Casgrain and Salans in 2010.[7]

In December 2023, Elliott Portnoy, the Global Chief Executive Officer since the three-way merger combination in 2013, announced his intention to stand down as Global CEO.[8] He officially stepped down in November 2024. Kate Barton, who joined the firm as Global CEO-Elect in September 2024, assumed the role of Global Chief Executive Officer in November 2024.[9]

As of December 2023, Dentons maintains its position as the largest law firm in the world by number of attorneys, a distinction it has held since 2015.[10] It is also one of the largest global law firms by revenue.

In the 2024 edition of the AmLaw Global 200 rankings, The American Lawyer ranked Dentons as the law firm with the 13th highest annual revenue generated worldwide, a position that follows its 5th-place ranking in 2023 and 6th-place ranking in 2022.[11]

In the 2025 edition of the Vault 100 rankings, Vault ranked Dentons as the 61st most prestigious law firm in the United States, following its 58th-place ranking in the 2024 edition of the Vault 100.[12]

## Corporate leadership

[edit]

In 2021, Dentons appointed its first Global Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Kate Broer.[13] Reporting directly to the Global CEO, Broer acted as a special advisor to the Dentons Global Board.

In 2022, Dentons hired Aragon St-Charles as the firm's first ever Global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Officer.[14]

In August 2023, Nicholas Howon Park of Dentons Lee was elected as Non-Executive Chair of the Global Board of Dentons.[15]

## Acqusitions and mergers

[edit]

On 11 November 2012, SNR Denton, Salans and the Canada-based Fraser Milner Casgrain announced a three-way merger, forming a new law firm structured as a Swiss verein and named Dentons.[16][17] The partners of the three firms ratified the merger on 28 November 2012, and it was completed on 28 March 2013.[18] In addition, Dentons opened an office in Houston, Texas, in September 2013.[19]

On January 26, 2015, Dentons announced that it was combining with a Chinese firm, Dacheng (Chinese: 大成) which was completed in November 2015. The new firm was called 大成 (Dacheng) in Chinese and "Dentons" in other languages, with a logo featuring the Chinese and English names combined as "大成 Dentons." Following the combination, Dentons surpassed Baker & McKenzie and DLA Piper, two of the world's previously largest law firms by headcount, by at least 2,500 lawyers.[20]

In April 2015, Dentons US agreed to a merger with Atlanta-based law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge which was completed in June of that year.[21] The firm also opened new offices in Hungary, Luxembourg and South Africa during 2015 and announced combinations with firms in Australia, Colombia, and Mexico.[22] It also launched Nextlaw Labs, a business accelerator focused on new technologies, in May 2015. Dentons also announced in November 2016 that it would become the first global law firm with a footprint in Central America by combining with Muñoz Global, adding offices in Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica operating as Dentons Muñoz was created as the Costa Rican and Central American chapter of Dentons.[23]

In April 2016, Dentons launched in Singapore by combining with the oldest and one of the most prestigious law firms in Singapore, Rodyk & Davidson. In December 2016, Dentons launched in Australia and Papua New Guinea by combining with leading Australian law firm Gadens. The Sydney, Perth and Port Moresby offices of Gadens joined Dentons, while the Adelaide and Brisbane offices became "associate offices" and the Melbourne office remained independent. The Gadens combination resulted in Dentons having approximately 7,600 lawyers serving 57 countries.[24]

In 2017, Dentons merged with Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens.

As of April 12 of 2018, Dentons announced partnerships in Kenya, Mauritius, Caribbean, Indonesia and Malaysia.[25]

In 2019, Dentons announced the launch of Dentons Lee in Seoul, becoming the first international law firm to incorporate a Korean legal practice.[26][27]

In 2021, Dentons combined with a Nigeria based law firm, ACAS Law.[28]

In 2022, Dentons combined with Zaanouni Law Firm & Associates in Tunisia[29] and LuatViet in Vietnam.[30] In October 2022, the firm announced a combination with Indian law firm Link Legal.[31]

In March 2023, Dentons announced its intention to combine with Philippines-based PJS Law.[32] In February 2024, the combination [33] with PJS Law was officially launched. In May 2023, Dentons launched its combination with Indian law firm Link Legal,[34] making it the first global law firm to combine with a law firm in India.

In August 2023, Dentons ended its combination with Dacheng, and established a "preferred firm" relationship, with Dacheng now operating independently as Beijing Dacheng Law Offices (大成).[35] Dentons continued to hold its position as the largest law firm in the world, even following the conclusion of its combination with Dacheng.[36] Dentons' Hong Kong practice is unaffected by the split and remains part of Dentons. The firm name Dentons is officially translated into Chinese as “德同”。

In October 2024, Dentons announced that it would launch offerings with four firms across Africa: Tamrat Assefa Liban Law Office in Ethiopia, LEGALIX in Senegal, Kouengoua Minou Nkongho (KMN) in Cameroon, and Pathy Liongo & Associates in the Democratic Republic of Congo.[37]

### 3D Global Affairs

[edit]

In 2017 the firm formed a strategic alliance with Republican opposition research firm Definers Public Affairs, dubbed 3D Global Affairs.[38] In 2018, Dentons disavowed involvement with Definers Public Affairs's opposition research work for Facebook.[39]

### DGA Group

[edit]

On June 2, 2021, Denton announced the launch of Dentons Global Advisors,[40][41] composed of founding acquisition Albright Stonebridge Group along with a team of advisory industry leaders, including Ed Reilly, who serves as chief executive officer (CEO). DGA Group competes with McKinsey, BCG, and other conglomerate consultancies.

On July 27, 2021, Interel, a pan-European public affairs consultancy, was acquired by Dentons Global Advisors,[42] renamed as Dentons Global Advisors Interel. In June 2024, Dentons Global Advisors rebranded to DGA Group.[43]

## Notable attorneys

[edit]

* Nicholas Allard, Dean and President of Brooklyn Law School
* Joseph Andrew, former Global Chair of Dentons and former Chair of the Democratic National Committee[44]
* Ashley Bell, former advisor in the White House Office of American Innovation; partner in Dentons' policy practice[45]
* Jeff Bleich, former U.S. Ambassador to Australia
* Jean Chretien, former Prime Minister of Canada[46]
* George W. Darden, former Member U.S. House of Representatives; presidential appointee to the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Advisor on behalf of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
* Philip Jeyaretnam SC, Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
* Stefan Passantino, attorney, former member Office of White House Counsel
* Elliott Portnoy, attorney, former Global CEO of Dentons
* David Syed, Head of Sovereign Practice[47]
* Scott Turow, author and lawyer
* Nicholas Howon Park, Non-executive Chair of the Global Board of Dentons, Senior Managing Attorney of Dentons Lee and a member of the Doosan Group chaebol family
* Joseph Crowley, Former U.S. Congressmen (NY-14)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "New-look Dentons to be 'most multi-cultural' law firm". The Lawyer. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
2. ^ "Global presence".
3. ^ "Dentons". www.thelawyer.com/. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
4. ^ "Our combination history". www.dentons.com/. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
5. ^ Henry, Justin (2024-11-11). "New Dentons CEO Barton taps EY experience for growth trajectory". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
6. ^ "Dentons Group (a Swiss Verein) in the Commercial Register Zurich". Commercial Register Zurich. 8 July 2022.
7. ^ Merken, Sara (2022-11-07). "Dentons' Joe Andrew, former DNC chair, to leave role as law firm's global chairman". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
8. ^ "Dentons launches search for new boss as global CEO announces departure". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
9. ^ "Ex-EY global vice chair announced as new global CEO at Dentons". www.thelawyermag.com. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
10. ^ Basham, Victoria (2023-12-13). "Dentons CEO Portnoy to step down after more than a decade at helm". The Global Legal Post.
11. ^ "Dentons". www.vault.com. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
12. ^ "Vault Law 100". www.vault.com. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
13. ^ "Toronto lawyer named Dentons' global inclusion and diversity officer - Law360 Canada". www.thelawyersdaily.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
14. ^ "Dentons Hires First ESG Head from Hogan Lovells". Law.com International. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
15. ^ "Dentons taps south korea leader as global board chair". www.law.com/americanlawyer. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
16. ^ "SNR Denton and Salans prepare to seal three-way deal with Canada's FMC". The Lawyer. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
17. ^ "SNR Denton prepares for mega-merger". The Washington Post. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
18. ^ "Salans, SNR and FMC approve three-way merger after partner votes". The Lawyer. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
19. ^ "Dentons launches in Houston to target energy work". The Lawyer. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
20. ^ "Dacheng Inks Merger with Dentons, Creates Legal Behemoth". Legal Business Online. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015.
21. ^ "Dentons to merge with smaller law firm McKenna Long" (Press release). Reuters. 8 April 2015.
22. ^ Cohen, Mark A. (9 December 2015). "Around The World, It's 'Hola, Dentons!'". Bloomberg BNA. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
23. ^ "Dentons Enters Central America With New Firm Combo - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
24. ^ "Dentons Tacks On 3 Gadens Offices In Downsized Tie-Up - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
25. ^ "Dentons announces seven new partnerships - Leaders League". www.leadersleague.com. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
26. ^ "Dentons eyes Korea through combination with Lee International". www.legalbusinessonline.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
27. ^ "Leading South Korea law firm to join Dentons legal empire". www.benchmarklitigation.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
28. ^ "The world's largest law firm to combine with ACAS-Law in Nigeriai". dentons.com. Dentons. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
29. ^ Mizner, Andrew. "ALB - African Law and Business". ALB Legal and Business Issues from Africa. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
30. ^ "Dentons expands ASEAN network with Vietnam combination | Asian Legal Business". www.legalbusinessonline.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
31. ^ Thomas, David; Dixit, Nimitt; Thomas, David; Dixit, Nimitt (2022-10-11). "Dentons to combine with Indian law firm Link Legal". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
32. ^ "Dentons Combination To Fill ASEAN 'Hole' In Philippines - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
33. ^ Grace (2024-02-05). "Dentons-Philippines law firm combination goes live". Law.asia. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
34. ^ "Dentons' 'historic' India combination goes live". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
35. ^ Miller, Joe (2023-08-10). "'The ground rules have changed': Dentons' retreat exposes China risks". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
36. ^ Basham, Victoria (2023-12-13). "Dentons CEO Portnoy to step down after more than a decade at helm". The Global Legal Post.
37. ^ "Dentons Combines with Four Firms in Latest Africa-Wide Expansion". Law.com International. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
38. ^ "Lobbying world". The Hill. December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017. "Law and lobby firm Dentons has launched 3D Global Affairs as part of an alliance with strategic communications and political intelligence firm Definers Public Affairs, run by Matt Rhoades, the former campaign manager for Mitt Romney's presidential run in 2012 and former Republican National Committee research director Joe Pounder. 3D Global Affairs offers clients legal teams, lobbying and advocacy help, digital advertising, data analytics, opposition research and political intelligence, among other services."
39. ^ Lovelace, Ryan (16 November 2018). "Dentons Says Facebook Oppo Research Was Not Part of Alliance With Definers". Law.com. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
40. ^ "Dentons launches new global advisory business to expand beyond legal services". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
41. ^ Newsham, Sean Czarnecki, Jack (21 June 2021). "Mega law firm Dentons wants to build a top-flight consulting business, and it just signed a deal to launch a new standalone firm". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 June 2025.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
42. ^ Merken, Sara (2021-07-27). "Dentons consultancy charts European expansion with Interel deal". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
43. ^ "Dentons Global Advisors rebrands to reflect independence". PRWeek.com International. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
44. ^ "Joe Andrew of Dentons Goes Out on Top—Just Like Everyone Else". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
45. ^ "Dentons Hires Trump Admin Vet in Public Policy Practice—and Other 'On the Move' News". Daily Report. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
46. ^ "Jean Chrétien". www.dentons.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
47. ^ "David Syed". www.dentons.com. Retrieved 2023-10-31.

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[edit]

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