The Firm Expands in Key Global Financial Centers Through Combination with Luxembourg's OPF Partners

26 November 2015

Global law firm Dentons today announced that it will further its leading presence in the world's top financial centers with a combination between Dentons Europe LLP and Luxembourg's OPF Partners. OPF Partners' is a leading Luxembourg firm, rated byChambers and The Legal 500 for banking and finance, corporate, investment funds, tax, real estate and dispute resolution. The firm's 34 lawyers, including nine partners, will join Dentons Europe LLP on January 1, 2016.

In 2015, Dentons has entered or expanded in six of the world's leading financial centers, and this combination means that the Firm now has a presence in the following cities out of the 25 top financial centers in the world: London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Toronto, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Chicago, Boston, Frankfurt, Sydney, Dubai, Montreal, Vancouver, Shanghai, Doha and Shenzhen.

"In our 10th transformative initiative in 2015, Dentons has done more for its clients this year than any global firm,” said Dentons Global Chairman, Joe Andrew.  “By listening to our clients and planning our strategy around their business goals, we are creating the law firm of the future—one that anticipates client needs and delivers the specific practice expertise and business experience required, in communities around the world."

Global Chief Executive Officer Elliott Portnoy added, "OPF Partners is recognized as one of Luxembourg's leading firms and its lawyers will be able to offer our clients elite counsel in this important European market, consistent with our polycentric approach of offering the best legal talent in communities around the world. We are very pleased to welcome this high quality team to the Firm."

Evan Lazar, Chairman of the Europe Board said, "Luxembourg plays a key role in the global and European investment fund and private equity sector, which is one of our core areas of focus and strategy. We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues from OPF Partners, with whom we have been working jointly for clients over recent years, and who share our commitment to excellence and building a leading pan-European practice.”

"We have already achieved a lot this year with our Milan launch, the hire of a substantial team in Hungary and the significant growth of our German practice with nine new partner appointments," said Chief Executive Officer for Europe Tomasz Dąbrowski. "This transaction implements another top priority under our strategic plan for Europe which we will continue to focus on in 2016 and the coming years."

Frédéric Feyten, Managing Partner of OPF Partners, commented, “We have always been committed to innovatively supporting local and international clients on the full spectrum of their Luxembourg projects. This combination will strengthen our capabilities in delivering pinpointed legal advice on a global scale. Luxembourg has achieved its status as a leading financial center, the largest European investment fund center, and a major private equity hub through its excellent services, international open-mindedness and stability. In this context, our teams are well positioned to solve the most challenging global client demands."

The news builds on Dentons' recent growth in Europe with the launch of a Milan office last month; the hire of 50 lawyers in Budapest earlier this year; and significant lateral partner hires in Germany, Russia and France. It also follows transformative combinations in China and the United States; the recent announcement of combinations with Australia's Gadens and Singapore's Rodyk; the Firm's February establishment of its Johannesburg office in Africa, where it is the first global law firm to achieve Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment status; and the creation of its innovation platform, NextLaw Labs, which is focused on developing, deploying, and investing in new technologies and processes to transform the practice of law around the world.

About Dentons

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

About OPF Partners

OPF Partners is a leading Luxembourg independent business law firm. The firm specialises in Luxembourg law with particular expertise in Corporate/M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Tax, Investment Funds, Banking & Finance, Structured Finance, Real Estate, Restructuring & Insolvency and Litigation. The firm’s qualified multi-lingual professionals advise on complex cross-border transactions structured through Luxembourg and have sound experience in the creation of regulated and non-regulated investment vehicles. OPF Partners serves an international clientele ranging from multi-national corporations, leading financial institutions, private equity houses, investment funds and high net worth individuals. High profile clients worldwide appreciate the firm’s ability to react to, innovate and to offer the best solutions to the most challenging client demands.