Dentons is the largest multinational

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 clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages other than Chinese, in which it is called 大成 (Dacheng). Dentons 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 tax law firm. With more than 560 lawyers (175 litigators) it was the ...

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 ...

. Following its merger with Chinese law firm Dacheng in November 2015, Dentons became the largest law firm in the world by number of lawyers and has the most offices of any law firm in the world, covering every continent. As of 2020, Dentons operates in 77 countries, has 190 offices. The firm has no headquarters, although the firm's senior leadership are primarily based in Beijing, London and Washington D.C. Dentons is structured as a

Swiss Verein A Swiss association ("''Verein''" in German, "association" in French, "associazione" 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 ...

called Dentons Group (a Swiss Verein), which does not itself provide legal services. The verein encapsulates multiple co-operating legal entities, namely Dentons Canada LLP, Dentons Europe LLP, Dentons UK and Middle East LLP, Dentons US LLP, amongst others.

History

On 11 November 2012, 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

announced a three-way merger, forming a new law firm structured as a

and named Dentons. The partners of the three firms ratified the merger on 28 November 2012, and it was completed on 28 March 2013. Dentons opened an office in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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 is called 大成 in Chinese, and Dentons in other languages. The logo features the Chinese characters for Dacheng globally, with the lettering 大成 Dentons. Following the combination, Dentons surpassed

Baker & McKenzie Baker McKenzie is an international law firm located in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1949, originally named Baker & McKenzie. It now has 77 offices in 46 countries. It employs 4,809 attorneys total, and approximately 13,000 employees tot ...

and

DLA Piper DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of ...

, the world's previous top law firms by headcount, by at least 2,500 lawyers. In April 2015, Dentons US agreed to a merger with

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based law firm

McKenna Long & Aldridge McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (MLA) was a United States-based international law and public policy firm with more than 575 attorneys and public policy advisors in 15 offices and 13 markets. The firm provided legal, business, and publ ...

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 a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

by combining with the oldest and one of the most prestigious law firms in Singapore,

Rodyk & Davidson Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP is one of Singapore's largest law firms, with around 180 lawyers who are qualified in various jurisdictions such as those of Singapore, Australia, England and Wales and India, and with offices in Singapore and Myanma ...

. 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 Maclay Murray & Spens LLP was a top 100 UK law firm headquartered in Glasgow with offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London, and was one of the UK's leading full service commercial law firms. In July 2017, it was announced that Maclay, Murr ...

. 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, leg ...

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 combined with Bingham Greenebaum Doll (from the Midwest) and Pittsburgh-based

Cohen & Grigsby Dentons Cohen & Grigsby is a United States-based law firm with approximately 140 attorneys, that is affiliated with multinational law firm Dentons. The firm's headquarters are in EQT Plaza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it has offices in Naples, ...

. The mergers were the first in a campaign called “Operation Golden Spike”. Firms that join Golden Spike operate on a dual partnership model where lawyers remain part of their existing firms while also becoming partners of the new Dentons U.S. firm. Golden Spike is part of Dentons plan to become the first U.S. law firm with a presence in all 20 of the largest U.S. markets.

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 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 a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

* Ashley Bell, former advisor in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Office of American Innovation The Office of American Innovation (OAI) was an office within the White House Office created by the Trump administration on March 27, 2017. History The purpose of the office was to "make recommendations to the President on policies and plans th ...

; partner in Dentons' policy practice * Jeff Bleich, former

U.S. Ambassador to Australia The position of United States Ambassador to Australia has existed since 1940. U.S.–Australian relations have been close throughout the history of Australia. Before World War II, Australia was closely aligned with the United Kingdom, but it ha ...

* Philip Jeyaretnam , Judicial Commissioner of the

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 ...

Scott Turow Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer. Turow has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Turow’s novel ...

, author and lawyer

References

External links

Dentons website
{{Authority control Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms of the United States Law firms of Canada Law firms established in 2013 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom Foreign law firms with offices in the Netherlands Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong