We’ve run out of ways to express the rise of Dentons with proper English. It’s hard to believe this is a firm that didn’t even exist 7 years ago when SNR Denton, Fraser Milner Casgrain and Salans got together to create what at the time was a pretty big firm — roughly 2500 lawyers. That figure seems quaint now. After merging with Dacheng to create a “gobsmacking” 6600 attorney firm, the firm didn’t stop.
Today, the firm has over 10,000 attorneys working around the world and while you’d think that would be more than enough to cover every conceivable market and practice area, but you would apparently be wrong.
Yesterday, Dentons announced that it plans to merge with Lee International, a leading law firm in South Korea. In keeping with the verein model Dentons operates under, the South Korea practice would be owned and controlled by the South Korean partners — making it the first global firm where local operations are 100% owned and controlled by Korean partners.
“With this combination, Dentons will be the only global law firm permitted to practice Korean law, offering clients high-quality legal counsel and business solutions,” said Joe Andrew, Global Chairman of Dentons. “This combination is an illustration of Dentons’ strategy to scale the business in dynamic and growing regions.”
Lee International is not bringing a Dacheng-level influx of new lawyers to the Dentons umbrella, but it does add a hefty number of both attorneys and dedicated patent attorneys. Lee International is a full-service firm boasting a strong reputation in IP, M&A, Finance, Real Estate, Corporate, Litigation, Entertainment, L&E, TMT, and Biotech. “We are enthusiastic about joining Dentons.” said Sung-Duck Park, Representative Attorney of Lee International. “The combination with Dentons will enable us to connect our respective talents to opportunities in South Korea and around the world.”
The merger is still pending partner approval and regulatory clearance but will probably be finalized over the next several months.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.