Dentons

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Dentons
Dentons logo.svg
HeadquartersDecentralised, [1] largest offices in London and New York
No. of offices160 [2]
No. of lawyers5,600+
Key peopleKate Barton
(Global Chief Executive Officer)
Nicholas Howon Park
(Chairman of the Global Board)
RevenueIncrease2.svg $2.899 billion (2019)
Profit per equity partner$1.07 million (2018)
Date foundedYear 1788 (Establishment of City of London law firm Denton Hall by Samuel Denton)
28 March 2013 (Creation of modern Dentons 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]

Contents

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 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. [7]

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. [8]

History

In 1785, Thomas Wilde (1758–1821) and Samuel Archer Hussey founded a law firm that became Wilde Sapte. In 1788, Denton Hall Burgin was established by Sam Denton. In 1906, Edward Sonnenschein and partners opened a law firm in Chicago that eventually became Sonnenschein Nath Rosenthal. In 1978, Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn was founded by two American lawyers, Carl Salans and Jeffrey Herzfeld, and a French lawyer, Eliane Heilbronn. In 1991, it became the first Western law firm to enter Russia.

In October 1997 Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn acquired the London-based law firm Harris Rosenblatt & Kramerhas, becoming the first Continental law firm to practice UK law. [9] In September 1998 Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn and the New York-based law firm Christy & Viener agreed to merge. [10] The merger was completed on 1 January 1999. [10] Also in September 1998 Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn acquired the Paris-based IT boutique law firm FG Associes. [11] In September 2003 Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn, renamed Salans, acquired the Prague, Bucharest, Bratislava, Istanbul and Shanghai offices of the collapsed American law firm Altheimer & Gray's. [12] In January 2006 Salans opened its first office in Germany through the acquisition of the Berlin office of the collapsed German law firm Haarmann Hemmelrath. [13] Salans acquired the Spanish law firm Masons Buxeda Menchén in April 2007, giving it offices in Madrid and Barcelona. [14]

In 2000, the City of London-based law firms Denton Hall and Wilde Sapte merged to form Denton Wilde Sapte. [15] In 2009, 100 lawyers (including 40 partners) joined Sonnenschein from Thacher Proffitt & Wood, doubling the firm's number of lawyers in New York. [16] In May 2010, Denton Wilde Sapte and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal announced their intention to merge. [17] On 30 September 2010, the merger between Denton Wilde Sapte and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal was formally completed, establishing SNR Denton.

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. [18] [19] The partners of the three firms ratified the merger on 28 November 2012 and the new firm began operations on 28 March 2013. [20] [21] [22]

Corporate leadership

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. [23]

In August 2023, Nicholas Howon Park of Dentons Lee was elected as Non-Executive Chair of the Global Board of Dentons. [24]

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. [25] 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. [26]

Acquisitions and mergers

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. [27]

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. [28] The firm also opened new offices in Hungary, Luxembourg and South Africa during 2015 and announced combinations with firms in Australia, Colombia, and Mexico. [29] 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. [30]

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. [31]

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. [32]

In 2019, Dentons announced the launch of Dentons Lee in Seoul, becoming the first international law firm to incorporate a Korean legal practice. [33] [34]

In 2021, Dentons combined with a Nigeria-based law firm, ACAS Law. [35]

In 2022, Dentons combined with Zaanouni Law Firm & Associates in Tunisia [36] and LuatViet in Vietnam. [37] In October 2022, the firm announced a combination with Indian law firm Link Legal. [38]

In March 2023, Dentons announced its intention to combine with Philippines-based PJS Law. [39] In February 2024, the combination [40] with PJS Law was officially launched. In May 2023, Dentons launched its combination with Indian law firm Link Legal, [41] 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). [42] Dentons continued to hold its position as the largest law firm in the world, even following the conclusion of its combination with Dacheng. [43] 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. [44]

3D Global Affairs

In 2017 the firm formed a strategic alliance with Republican opposition research firm Definers Public Affairs, dubbed 3D Global Affairs. [45] In 2018, Dentons disavowed involvement with Definers Public Affairs's opposition research work for Facebook. [46]

DGA Group

On June 2, 2021, Denton announced the launch of Dentons Global Advisors, [47] [48] 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, [49] renamed as Dentons Global Advisors Interel. In June 2024, Dentons Global Advisors rebranded to DGA Group. [50]

Notable attorneys

References

  1. ↑ "New-look Dentons to be 'most multi-cultural' law firm". The Lawyer. November 12, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Global presence".
  3. ↑ "Dentons". www.thelawyer.com/. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Our combination history". www.dentons.com/. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  5. ↑ Henry, Justin (November 11, 2024). "New Dentons CEO Barton taps EY experience for growth trajectory". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Dentons Group (a Swiss Verein) in the Commercial Register Zurich". Commercial Register Zurich. July 8, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Dentons". www.vault.com. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Vault Law 100". www.vault.com. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Paris firm scores a first with takeover of London practice". The Lawyer. October 28, 1997. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Salans forges transatlantic merger". The Lawyer. September 22, 1998. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Salans beats rivals to Paris IT boutique". The Lawyer. September 15, 1998. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Salans rescues Altheimers' Eastern European practices". The Lawyer. September 22, 2003. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Salans takes Haarmann Berlin for German launch". The Lawyer. January 13, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Salans steals Spanish ally from Pinsents". The Lawyer. April 9, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Denton Wilde Sapte". Legal Week. December 14, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Amid Downturn, Law Firm Sonnenschein Scales Up". Bloomberg Businessweek. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Sonnenschein, Denton Wilde To Merge". American Lawyer. May 26, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  18. ↑ "SNR Denton and Salans prepare to seal three-way deal with Canada's FMC". The Lawyer. November 7, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012. - "SNR Denton prepares for mega-merger". The Washington Post. November 11, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  19. ↑ "SNR Denton prepares for mega-merger". The Washington Post. November 11, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Salans, SNR and FMC approve three-way merger after partner votes". The Lawyer. November 28, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  21. ↑ "New-look Dentons to go live on 28 March - and 2 April". The Lawyer. February 22, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  22. ↑ "SNR Denton, Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain: Mega-merger of lawyers". The Independent. March 24, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  23. ↑ Merken, Sara (November 7, 2022). "Dentons' Joe Andrew, former DNC chair, to leave role as law firm's global chairman". Reuters. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Dentons taps south korea leader as global board chair". www.law.com/americanlawyer. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Dentons launches search for new boss as global CEO announces departure". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. December 14, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Ex-EY global vice chair announced as new global CEO at Dentons". www.thelawyermag.com. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Dacheng Inks Merger with Dentons, Creates Legal Behemoth". Legal Business Online. January 22, 2015. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Dentons to merge with smaller law firm McKenna Long" (Press release). Reuters. April 8, 2015.
  29. ↑ Cohen, Mark A. (December 9, 2015). "Around The World, It's 'Hola, Dentons!'". Bloomberg BNA. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Dentons Enters Central America With New Firm Combo - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Dentons Tacks On 3 Gadens Offices In Downsized Tie-Up - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Dentons announces seven new partnerships - Leaders League". www.leadersleague.com. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Dentons eyes Korea through combination with Lee International". www.legalbusinessonline.com. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Leading South Korea law firm to join Dentons legal empire". www.benchmarklitigation.com. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  35. ↑ "The world's largest law firm to combine with ACAS-Law in Nigeriai". dentons.com. Dentons. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  36. ↑ Mizner, Andrew. "ALB - African Law and Business". ALB Legal and Business Issues from Africa. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Dentons expands ASEAN network with Vietnam combination | Asian Legal Business". www.legalbusinessonline.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  38. ↑ Thomas, David; Dixit, Nimitt; Thomas, David; Dixit, Nimitt (October 11, 2022). "Dentons to combine with Indian law firm Link Legal". Reuters. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Dentons Combination To Fill ASEAN 'Hole' In Philippines - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  40. ↑ Grace (February 5, 2024). "Dentons-Philippines law firm combination goes live". Law.asia. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  41. ↑ "Dentons' 'historic' India combination goes live". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  42. ↑ Miller, Joe (August 10, 2023). "'The ground rules have changed': Dentons' retreat exposes China risks". Financial Times. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  43. ↑ Basham, Victoria (December 13, 2023). "Dentons CEO Portnoy to step down after more than a decade at helm". The Global Legal Post.
  44. ↑ "Dentons Combines with Four Firms in Latest Africa-Wide Expansion". Law.com International. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  45. ↑ "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.
  46. ↑ Lovelace, Ryan (November 16, 2018). "Dentons Says Facebook Oppo Research Was Not Part of Alliance With Definers". Law.com. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Dentons launches new global advisory business to expand beyond legal services". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  48. ↑ Newsham, Sean Czarnecki, Jack (June 21, 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 June 25, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  49. ↑ Merken, Sara (July 27, 2021). "Dentons consultancy charts European expansion with Interel deal". Reuters. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  50. ↑ "Dentons Global Advisors rebrands to reflect independence". PRWeek.com International. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  51. ↑ "Joe Andrew of Dentons Goes Out on Top—Just Like Everyone Else". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  52. ↑ "Dentons Hires Trump Admin Vet in Public Policy Practice—and Other 'On the Move' News". Daily Report. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  53. ↑ "Jean Chrétien". www.dentons.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  54. ↑ "David Syed". www.dentons.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
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