law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
based in the United States. It was founded in March 2013 by the merger of SNR Denton,
Fraser Milner Casgrain
''As of March 28, 2013, Fraser Milner Casgrain combined with Salans and SNR Denton to form Dentons.''
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) was a Canadian business, litigation, and a tax law firm. With more than 560 lawyers (175 litigators), it was ...
and
Salans Salans may refer to:
* Salans (law firm), a former law firm
* Salans, Jura, a commune in France
* Salans, Doubs, a settlement in France
{{Disambiguation, geo ...
. The Dentons name originally belonged to Denton Hall, a law firm based in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
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
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
office remains Dentons' largest office by number of attorneys, with the
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
office following behind in second place.
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
A Swiss association ("" in German, "" in French, "" in Italian) is a type of corporation in Swiss law. It is similar to the Anglo-American voluntary association. Unlike in Germany, a Swiss association does not need to be registered in order to ...
called the Dentons Group, which does not itself provide legal services. 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.
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. 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.
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.
In the 2024 edition of the AmLaw Global 200 rankings,
The American Lawyer
''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.SNR Denton,
Salans Salans may refer to:
* Salans (law firm), a former law firm
* Salans, Jura, a commune in France
* Salans, Doubs, a settlement in France
{{Disambiguation, geo ...
and the Canada-based
Fraser Milner Casgrain
''As of March 28, 2013, Fraser Milner Casgrain combined with Salans and SNR Denton to form Dentons.''
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) was a Canadian business, litigation, and a tax law firm. With more than 560 lawyers (175 litigators), it was ...
announced a three-way merger, forming a new law firm structured as a
Swiss verein
A Swiss association ("" in German, "" in French, "" in Italian) is a type of corporation in Swiss law. It is similar to the Anglo-American voluntary association. Unlike in Germany, a Swiss association does not need to be registered in order to ...
and named Dentons. The partners of the three firms ratified the merger on 28 November 2012, and it was completed on 28 March 2013. In addition, Dentons opened an office in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, in September 2013.
On January 26, 2015, Dentons announced that it was combining with a Chinese firm, Dacheng () 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
Baker McKenzie is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1949 under the name Baker & McKenzie, it has 68 offices in 46 countries and employs 4,558 attorneys.
History
Co-founding partner Russell Baker, who had graduate ...
and
DLA Piper
DLA Piper is a law firm with offices in over 40 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
It was founded in 2005 through the merger between three law firms: San Diego–based ''Gray Cary Ware & Freiden ...
, two of the world's previously largest law firms by headcount, by at least 2,500 lawyers.
In April 2015, Dentons US agreed to a merger with
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
-based law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge which was completed in June of that year. The firm also opened new offices in Hungary, Luxembourg and South Africa during 2015 and announced combinations with firms in Australia, Colombia, and Mexico. 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.
In April 2016, Dentons launched in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
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.
In 2017, Dentons merged with Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens. In 2017 the firm formed a strategic alliance with
opposition research
In politics, opposition research (also called oppo research) is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or otherwise weaken them. The information can include biographical, l ...
firm Definers Public Affairs, dubbed 3D Global Affairs. As of April 12 of 2018, Dentons announced partnerships in Kenya, Mauritius, Caribbean, Indonesia and Malaysia.
In 2019, Dentons announced the launch of Dentons Lee in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, becoming the first international law firm to incorporate a Korean legal practice. In August 2023, Nicholas Howon Park of Dentons Lee was elected as Non-Executive Chair of the Global Board of Dentons.
On June 2, 2021, Denton announced the launch of Dentons Global Advisors, composed of founding member Albright Stonebridge Group along with a team of seasoned advisory industry leaders, including Ed Reilly, who serves as chief executive officer (CEO).
On July 27, 2021, Interel, an award-winning pan-European public affairs consultancy, joined Dentons Global Advisors, now known as Dentons Global Advisors Interel. In June 2024, Dentons Global Advisors rebranded to DGA Group.
Also in 2021, Dentons appointed its first Global Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Kate Broer. Reporting directly to the Global CEO, Broer acts as a special advisor to the Dentons Global Board, guides the Firmwide leadership, and develops and drives the strategy forward. It also combined with a Nigeria based Law Firm, ACAS Law.
In 2022, Dentons combined with Zaanouni Law Firm & Associates in Tunisia and LuatViet in Vietnam. In October 2022, the Firm announced a combination with Indian law firm Link Legal. Also in 2022, Dentons hired Aragon St-Charles as the firm's first ever Global ESG Officer.
In March 2023, Dentons announced its intention to combine with Philippines-based PJS Law. In February 2024, the combination with PJS Law was officially launched. In May 2023, Dentons launched its combination with Indian law firm Link Legal, 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). Dentons continues to hold its position as the largest law firm in the world, even following the conclusion of its combination with Dacheng.
In October 2024, Dentons announced that it will 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.
Notable attorneys
*
Nicholas Allard
Nicholas W. Allard (born October 4, 1952) is an American attorney and founding Dean of the Jacksonville University College of Law.
Biography
Allard grew up in Northport, Long Island, New York, and in Suffern, New York. He was inspired to go to ...
, Dean and President of
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty.
...
* Joseph Andrew, former Global Chair of Dentons and former Chair of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
Member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
; presidential appointee to the Board of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (U ...
; Advisor on behalf of the
National Democratic Institute
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is a non-profit American non-governmental organization whose stated mission is to "support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability". It is ...
Supreme Court of Singapore
The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The C ...
Office of White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Off ...
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of Dentons
* David Syed, Head of Sovereign Practice
*
Scott Turow
Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer. Turow worked as a lawyer for a decade before writing full-time, and has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 la ...
, 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
Doosan Group () is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation. In 2009, the corporation was placed in the ''Fortune'' Global 500 index. It is the parent company of Bobcat and Škoda Power. Doosan Group is the oldest running company ...
chaebol
A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...
family
*
Joseph Crowley
Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American former politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in ...