World’s largest legal group continues expansion in Australia and Singapore.
Dentons on Monday agreed deals with Gadens of Australia and Singapore’s Rodyk & Davidson, as the world’s largest law firm by number of attorneys continued its aggressive expansion. The combination of the three law firms will bring the number of Dentons lawyers to 7,700 across 80 offices in Asia-Pacific, and ranks it ahead of rival Baker & McKenzie with about 4,000 lawyers.
Dentons, which was created out of the three-way merger of US, French and Canadian firms in 2012, rose to the top spot in January after sealing a deal with Dacheng, China’s biggest law firm. In July, Dentons also added McKenna Long & Aldridge to its business.
Based in Sydney, Gadens employs more than 500 lawyers in five Australian cities, as well as outposts in Singapore and Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. Rodyk & Davidson, which was established in Singapore in 1861, has about 200 attorneys and offices in Shanghai and Jakarta.
The deals, which will be voted on by partners later in November, will be structured as a Swiss verein tie-up, whereby law firms share marketing and branding, but keep their profits and finances separate. Joe Andrew, global chairman of Dentons, said that the addition of Gadens and Rodyk & Davidson to Dacheng’s Chinese business would create a “Pacific Rim powerhouse”.
“In a globalised world, the old way law firms were organised simply doesn’t work,” Mr Andrew said, citing increasing cross-border trade and investment, alongside initiatives such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and China’s new Silk Road, as key reasons behind Dentons’ pivot to Asia. Ian Clarke, national chairman of Gadens, said his firm made a “strategic” decision in joining Dentons because of increasing demand for overseas legal expertise from Australian clients.
“More and more of our clients are going into Asia and offshore,” Mr Clarke said. “If we can’t follow our clients, there’s every chance we could lose them.”
Dentons’ aggressive expansion plan in Asia has concentrated on adding well-established, existing firms to its global structure, rather than setting up its own offices in new markets. Elliot Portnoy, chief executive of Dentons, said that this was vital for bridging cultural divides and providing real local expertise.
“We don’t send lawyers out from one place to another to colonise,” Mr Portnoy said. “There’s no flag attached to our firm.”
Source: All text from FT.com
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