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Dentons to ‘formally retire’ role of global chair
The global chair of Dentons has announced that he will not seek another term in the role, with the firm subsequently opting not to continue with the position moving forward.
Jerome Doraisamy
Big things have been happening at Dentons lately. Late last month, its Australian chair and Australasian regional chief executive Doug Stipanicev — who recently spoke with Lawyers Weekly about the firm’s revenue growth trajectory in Australia — was reappointed for a third term.
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The BigLaw firm also entered into a “historic combination” with full-service Indian practice Link Legal, marking the first time a global law firm has combined with an Indian entity.
This all followed the firm’s promotion of 28 professionals in June and the addition of six new partners in September.
Now, Dentons is set to retire the role of global chair, after its founding global chairman, Joe Andrew, decided to “go out on top” on the occasion of the firm’s 10-year anniversary.
Mr Andrew — who was also the founding chairman of one of Dentons’ predecessor firms, SNR Denton — will continue to serve in the role into next year before stepping down. He will, the firm noted, continue his own legal practice at Dentons.
In a statement, he said: “As the architect of Dentons’ strategy, I am most proud of this simple thing: the idea that is Dentons.
“When we announced the launch of Dentons a decade ago, many of our critics doubted it would succeed. But today, we know it is a powerful concept because more law firms and lawyers have joined Dentons than any other firm in the history of the legal profession.
“Dentons has never been stronger, so it’s time for me to ‘go out on top’, with all the successes we have had. I’m looking forward to taking the same innovation and energy I brought to the position of global chairman and applying it to the practice of law for my clients.”
The firm’s global chief executive, Elliot Portnoy, added: “My appreciation to Joe for his contributions to Dentons is immense. His impact on the business of law has been enormous.
“He not only conceived the strategy that made Dentons the world’s largest global law firm, helping lead more than 50 whole-firm combinations, but he is the architect of many of the innovations that Dentons is known for — including our polycentric business model — a key differentiator for the firm.”
Mr Andrew had received the support of the firm’s global management committee and global board to run for another term, but in the wake of his decision to step down, the global board made the determination to “formally retire” the position of global chair.
All other global management positions will remain in place, the firm noted.
