Dentons US and McKenna Long to Combine

Committed to delivering the highest quality legal counsel at home and abroad, Dentons will serve clients from more than 125 locations across 50 plus countries. It will boast approximately 6,600 lawyers and professionals worldwide, with more than 1,100 of them based in the United States. The team will span 21 US locations.

The merger is done in the hope of significantly enhancing client service across practices and sectors. Disciplines that will benefit include corporate, litigation, real estate, insurance, public policy and regulation, government contracts and intellectual property.

Another aim is to enhance Dentons’ offerings in key US markets. Following the merger, Dentons will have a substantially increased presence in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC, and new capabilities in Denver, San Diego, Orange County, CA, and Albany, NY, providing the firm a significantly enhanced position in the Southeastern US and the Western US, including California, the third-largest US market.

Furthermore, the merging firms hope to create global synergies. Building on Dentons’ global platform and the upcoming combination with Dacheng, this merger will enable Dentons US to offer even more services in more places to more clients. Dentons currently offers the fifth-largest presence in Canada; combining that with McKenna Long’s US-Canadian practice will make the new Dentons the premier firm for US-Canada work. McKenna Long’s Seoul office will advance the firm’s inroads into the fast-growing Asia Pacific market. International clients seeking access to US markets will take advantage of the merged firm’s expanded American footprint. Clients in the US and around the globe will also benefit from the united team of influential and experienced government affairs professionals between Dentons US and McKenna Long. This team includes former national party officials, ambassadors, former members of the US Congress and top aides to US presidents, governors and senators.

Finally, the plan is to leverage Dentons’ polycentric approach on behalf of clients. Both Dentons and McKenna Long aim to embrace the diversity of people, geography, cultures, legal traditions and clients. Dentons will have no dominant national culture or single headquarters. This polycentric approach benefits clients competing in globalised markets and sectors and offers legal talent from diverse backgrounds and countries and with deep experience in every type of law, including civil law, common law, Shari’ah law and Chinese law.

The merger of Dentons US and McKenna Long is expected to be effective later in 2015.