Dentons US, Bingham Greenebaum and Cohen & Grigsby have proposed a combination and new partnership, with the goal of building national law firm capable of serving clients from coast to coast as well as around the world.
The combination, following approval by partners and meeting applicable regulatory requirements, is expected to launch in January 2020.
Building on Dentons’ global polycentric model, the new partnership — beginning with Dentons US, Indianapolis-headquartered Bingham Greenebaum and Pittsburgh-headquartered Cohen & Grigsby — will represent the first step in forming a national U.S. law firm that serves as a one-stop shop for clients, while enabling member firms to retain their defining characteristics and provide community insight wherever clients need it.
The firms call this model Golden Spike in honor of the celebratory railroad spike that 150 years ago completed the transcontinental railroad in the U.S.
At launch, the combined firm will have offices in 33 U.S. markets, including nine of the 10 largest markets and 14 of the top 20. Its headcount of nearly 1,100 lawyers will make it the 10th largest law firm in the U.S. Clients will have access to the experience and talents of more than 10,000 lawyers in 181 locations and 73 countries across the globe.
Each member firm has specific strengths that can be leveraged efficiently to the advantage of the other member firms, such as Bingham Greenebaum’s economic development experience, Cohen & Grigsby’s mid-market M&A and private equity practices, and Dentons’ strength in capital markets.
“We are thrilled to become foundational partners in a new partnership that will enable us to provide the benefits of being part of a truly national and global firm to our clients, while allowing us to retain our defining characteristics, leadership structure and in and of the community insights that our clients value,” Cohen & Grigsby President and CEO Chris Carson said, in a statement.
