A pandemic doesn’t seem like the best time for a merger, but that’s not going to keep the largest law firm in the world from expanding its enormous footprint. This is the biggest “merger” that’s been announced since the coronavirus crisis began, but for Dentons, that’s par for the course.
When we last checked in with the Biglaw behemoth, it had closed two offices thanks to COVID, but now the firm is back on board with Project Golden Spike, where it’s combining with other successful entities to bring the Dentons name across the country. When all is said and done, Dentons aims to have 1,100 attorneys in the U.S., and today’s announcement will add another ~100 attorneys to the firm’s gigantic roster.
Dentons will be joining forces with Salt Lake City-based Durham Jones & Pinegar, one of the largest firms in Utah, to become the first global firm in the Beehive State. What else is so special about this combination? As noted in the American Lawyer, Durham Jones & Pinegar — or we should say Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar — will be able to work under the Dentons platform, but maintain control of its own governance, compensation, and hiring. Here are some details from the firm’s press release:
“We are excited to be combining with Dentons, a widely respected law firm that, like us, clearly prioritizes innovation and adaptability, especially during these extraordinary times,” said Todd Leishman, Chairman and President of Durham Jones & Pinegar. “Our combination with Dentons will allow our clients to continue to be served by lawyers they know and trust, who can now connect them to colleagues across the country and around the world.”
Building on Dentons’ global polycentric model, Project Golden Spike increases the quality and breadth of service to clients on a national and global scale, while also enabling US member firms like Durham Jones & Pinegar to retain their defining characteristics and provide in and of the community insight wherever clients need it.
“In times of accelerated change, the model of law firm combinations needs to continue to transform,” said Toby McClamroch, Managing Partner of Dentons United States Region. “Through the Golden Spike model and this combination with Durham Jones & Pinegar, Dentons is able to foster true collaboration between member firms and continue its trajectory to better serve clients across our focus on the 100 largest legal markets in the US.”
Upon the completion of this tie-up, Dentons will have a home in 188 locations — with 37 in the U.S. Which firm will be the next to get on board with the new business model presented by Dentons? We’ll soon see, because global chairman Joe Andrew says a few more U.S. firms will become part of the Dentons family by late 2020 or early 2021.
Dentons to Combine With Durham Jones & Pinegar in Utah [Business Wire]
Dentons Makes Salt Lake City the Next Stop in US Expansion [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.