Dentons, Davis Brown announce future combination

Dentons, Davis Brown announce future combination

A future combination has been announced by Dentons - the world's largest law firm connecting talent to the world's challenges and opportunities in over 75 countries and Davis Brown - leading law firm based out of Iowa.

Even as other law firms are reducing size or withdrawing from key markets in light of the global pandemic and economic crisis, 28 new offices worldwide have been announced by Dentons.

A statement from Davis Brown read, "We are excited about our combination with Dentons, as it dovetails precisely with our client-centric focus on the future of legal services".

The announcement will help grow Project Golden Spike which is a series of combinations devoted to evolving the first truly national US law firm with the capacity to steer 39 locations across the US and 193 locations across 77 countries across the globe.

Joe Andrew, Global Chairman, Dentons, said, "In the New Dynamic, our clients are confronted with constant, accelerated change and want to work with a law firm that has the experience and confidence to help them navigate it wherever they are located. Davis Brown is a truly exceptional firm and has been ranked as Des Moines' best law firm for the last 15 years. Our combination with Davis Brown positions us as the first global law firm in Iowa and gets us one step closer to becoming the first truly national US law firm."

Elliott Portnoy, Global CEO, Dentons, said, "We are delighted to be combining with Davis Brown in Iowa, a major financial services and insurance hub, and a key and growing market for our clients with Des Moines' external legal spend exceeding that of the entire country of India. Like Dentons, Davis Brown and its lawyers are repeatedly recognized for the quality of their legal service and their focus on inclusion and diversity and our combination means we can connect clients to leading talent in Iowa and in 77 countries around the world."

One of the largest law firms in Iowa with nearly 80 lawyers and three offices in West Des Moines, Ames and the largest in the Davis Brown Tower in downtown Des Moines, Davis Brown, offers a wide array of legal services to diverse clients across trusts and probate, wills, tax, renewable energy, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution and litigation, employment and labor law, intellectual property, immigration, health law, emerging businesses, construction and agribusiness. Davis Brown leads the Iowa legal market and the firm and its lawyers are known for creativity, academic excellence, motivation and integrity. The firm has been repeatedly recognized by leading publications.

For Dentons', the combination will bolster its offices in the Midwest. Both Dentons' and Davis Brown will enrich their portfolio of client services across real estate, construction, litigation, insurance, healthcare, employment and corporate apart from leveraging growth opportunities in areas such as finance, public law, cross-border M&A, energy, agriculture, intellectual property and immigration.

John Pietila, President, Davis Brown, said, "We are excited about our combination with Dentons, as it dovetails precisely with our client-centric focus on the future of legal services. Clients will continue to work with the Davis Brown lawyers they know and trust, while our lawyers will gain access to a state-of-the-art platform for meeting client needs around efficiency, security and innovation. Combined with our strengths as an Iowa law firm, the national and global reach of Dentons will provide additional opportunities and greater capabilities to solve our clients' most complex problems."

Lori Chesser, Shareholder and Chair of Davis Brown's immigration department, said, "Dentons' polycentric model allows us to retain our defining characteristics as Davis Brown and all that means to our communities, while at the same time accessing a broad range of national and international legal services for our clients." Toby McClamroch, Managing Partner of Dentons United States Region, said, "We are in a time of accelerated change and law firms, more than ever before, need to transform to meet and exceed the dynamic needs of clients. Law firms around the US see the benefits of our Golden Spike model and the combination with Davis Brown will continue our trajectory to better serve our clients' needs across the 100 largest legal markets in the US."

Apart from the combination with Davis Brown in future, Dentons' has approved a combination with East African Law Chambers (EALC), leading Tanzanian law firm, as part of its larger objective to become a leading pan-African law firm. Further, Dentons has launched nine other combinations.