Dentons has announced today that it is to combine with leading Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens.The merger is expected to complete later in 2017 following approval by the partnerships of both firms and will add over 200 lawyers bringing Denton's worldwide legal team to around 8700 lawyers and professionals. Maclay Murray & Spens  (MMS) has 258 fee-earners, including 62 partners, and a team of 430 staff altogether including support staff across four offices and is a UK-wide full-service commercial law firm with offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. One of the largest and longest-established Scottish legal firms, it was founded in Glasgow in 1871 and was the first commercial law practice to be formed in Scotland.

Going from largest to leading

'This combination will significantly enhance our scale and capabilities in the UK,' said Dentons' global chief executive officer Elliott Portnoy. 'Combining with strong, independent and well-established firms is central to Dentons' 'in and of the community' ethos, and with its rich history in the Scottish market Maclay Murray & Spens fits very much into this category. Following soon after our recent combinations with equally high-quality firms in Latin America and the Netherlands, this development accelerates Dentons' momentum as we continue our journey 'from largest to leading.'

Scottish leader

Dentons CEO for the UK and Middle East, Jeremy Cohen, said that Maclay Murray & Spens was a Scottish leader in some of  Dentons' strongest practices and sectors including financial services, energy, transport and infrastructure and real estate. 'By combining we will also significantly increase our out-of-London capability. Working seamlessly with colleagues in London, our Milton Keynes and Watford offices already enable us to deliver enhanced value to many of our largest clients. This combination will upscale that ability by a very considerable margin.'

Law firm of the future

'Our vision is to offer clients the 'law firm of the future' now,' said Dentons' global chairman Joe Andrew. 'By enhancing our ability to serve national and multi-national clients in the UK, the world's second largest legal market, and continuing to innovate in client service delivery, Dentons continues to set the pace in the global legal market.'

Largest firm

During 2016/17 Dentons consolidated its position as the largest law firm in the world by combining with firms in Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama and Singapore, and launching new offices in Munich, Oakland, Rome, Tbilisi, and Watford. The firm has over 8,000 lawyers in over 60 countries.

Latest appointments

Recent global panel appointments with a significant UK component include: Avis (reduced its panel from 700 firms to 7) and Nokia (reduced from 100+ to four), demonstrating how Dentons' enhanced international footprint enables the Firm to respond to the trend of global businesses appointing firms that can deliver both a global platform and a deeper level of relationship commitment. Dentons was also appointed to Standard Chartered's global panel. Recent UK panel appointments include the UK Government, John Lewis, Network Rail and Royal Mail.