Dentons' first-year success results from polycentric, client-centered priority in new firm

NEW YORK, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On the occasion of the first anniversary of its founding, leaders of the global law firm Dentons say its polycentric approach, strategic growth and client-centered focus has made the firm's first year a success. Dentons was launched March 31, 2013, through the combination of international law firm Salans, Canada's Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC) and international law firm SNR Denton.

"When we agreed to form Dentons just one year ago, the partners of our legacy firms were committed to challenging the most elite law firms in the world with a polycentric approach and by providing extensive industry knowledge, exceptional legal counsel and detailed familiarity with local laws and regulations wherever our clients needed them," says Global Chair Joe Andrew. "Our clients tell us they particularly value our ability to connect them to top tier legal talent, from different regions, culture and legal traditions."

"We always knew the measure of success for the Dentons combination would come down to the answers to three questions," says Global CEO Elliott Portnoy. "Are we winning new work and new clients that would not have come to our legacy firms but for our combined platform? Are we meeting the needs of current clients and growing business with them? And are we retaining and attracting legal talent throughout the globe to better serve clients? For Dentons, the answer to each of these questions is an unequivocal 'yes.'"

Winning cross-region work: Proof that Dentons is winning work that its legacy firms would not have secured on their own is evident in many forms:

• Since the plans to form Dentons were announced in the summer of 2012, Dentons has opened more than 2500 matters served by two or more of its regions, involving virtually every one of its offices throughout Africa, Central and East Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the UK and the US. 
• Nearly three quarters of the firm's approximately 2600 lawyers and professionals have been engaged in these cross-region matters.
• The firm has secured global panel appointments representing leading global manufacturing companies, financial institutions and energy concerns.
• Expanding client offerings: During its first year, Dentons added to its offerings to clients in more than 50 countries and 75 locations by:
• Opening a new office in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• Opening a new office in Houston, Texas, USA.
• Creating Wirthlin, a Dentons Innovation Group Partnership in conjunction Wirthlin Worldwide, to advise clients on global market strategy, international partnerships and venturing and crisis management, in June 2013.

Attracting top-tier talent: The firm's global platform has also served as a magnet for talent, enabling the firm to offer clients even more expertise. Since its launch in March 2013, the firm has:

• Attracted more than 100 lawyers and professionals from other firms, including 46 lawyers from Canadian firm Heenan Blaikie who joined the ranks of Dentons Canada in March, 2014.
• Enhanced already strong practices such as Arbitration, Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Energy, Health and Life Sciences, Intellectual Property, Private Equity, Public Policy and Regulation, Real Estate and Trade.
• Increased its quality rankings to a total of 412 lawyers and 195 practices rated by Chambers and 80 Dentons Canada lawyers in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.

Winning recognition: In the past year, Dentons' global reach and expanded services have earned the firm recognition from clients and legal services observers for the quality of its work and its contributions to the communities that it serves. Recent accolades include:

• Rated a top 20 legal brand by the Acritas Global Brand Elite Index survey of senior general counsel in multinational companies with revenues of more than $1 billion.
• "Go-to firm for the Fortune 500" - Corporate Counsel
• "Best law firm in insurance" - US News & World Report
• "Law firm of the year, France" - The Lawyer
• "Law firm of the year, Central Europe" - The Lawyer
• "Law firm of the year" - CEE Retail Real Estate Awards
• "Most dynamic energy practice" - Energy Daily
• Top 10 law firm for private equity and venture capital transactions - Dow Jones PE Analyst
• "Best Pan-African law firm, Capital Markets and Corporate" - emeafinance
• Corporate Equality Index, perfect score - The Human Rights Campaign Foundation
• Gold Standard Certified - The Women in Law Empowerment Forum
• "Best contribution by a law firm" - LawWorks Pro Bono Awards

"The legal world has been undergoing tumultuous changes since the economic crisis in 2008," says Andrew. "Dentons was formed as a response to these dynamics and the success we have achieved for our clients in the past year demonstrates we are on the right path."

About Dentons
Dentons is a global firm driven to provide a competitive edge in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. It was formed in March 2013 by the combination of international law firm Salans LLP, Canadian law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) and international law firm SNR Denton. Dentons is built on the solid foundations of these three highly valued law firms. Each built an outstanding reputation and valued clientele by responding to the local, regional and national needs of a broad spectrum of clients of all sizes—individuals; entrepreneurs; small businesses and startups; local, regional and national governments and government agencies; and mid-sized and larger private and public corporations, including international and global entities.

Dentons' clients now benefit from approximately 2,600 lawyers and professionals in more than 75 locations spanning 50-plus countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and the CIS, the UK and the US who are committed to challenge the status quo and offer creative, dynamic business and legal solutions.

SOURCE Dentons