Elliott Portnoy

Elliott I. Portnoy (born November 1, 1965) is an American attorney and the Global chief executive officer of Dentons—a law firm that launched March 28, 2013 with the combination of US/UKMEA firm SNR Denton, Canada's Fraser Milner Casgrain and Europe's Salans, and is now the largest law firm in the world.

Portnoy was previously the chief executive of SNR Denton, a combination between Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP and Denton Wilde Sapte. At 41 when he took over as chairman of Sonnenschein, he was the youngest partner to serve in the role and the first outside Chicago, where that firm was founded in 1906. As chairman, he oversaw the growth of Sonnenschein to nearly 800 lawyers and other professionals, including the addition of 100 new attorneys from Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP on Jan. 1, 2009. Consistent with Portnoy's aim to address the globalization of client needs, his leadership transformed Sonnenschien from its Chicago-based roots into the global firm it is today.

In line with Portnoy’s business vision, the combination of Dentons and Chinese law firm 大成 was announced in January 2015 which created the world’s largest law firm upon completion.

2015 saw several major regional expansions for the firm. In April 2015, Dentons US agreed to a merger with Atlanta-based law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge which was completed in June of that year. In November 2015, Dentons completed its combination with 大成 which created the world’s largest law firm upon completion, and also announced combinations with offices in Hungary, Luxembourg, and South Africa during 2015. The firm also launched Nextlaw Labs, a business accelerator focused on investing in, developing and deploying new technologies to transform the practice of law, in May 2015.

In April 2016, Dentons completed a combination with Rodyk, the oldest and one of the most prestigious law firms in Singapore, and formalized combinations one month later with Colombia's Cardenas & Cardenas, and Mexico’s López Velarde. In May 2016, Dentons launched the Nextlaw Global Referral Network, the only free law firm referral network, which is based on a new technology platform that will allow member law firms to easily connect and track referrals.

In December 2016, Dentons launched in Australia, opening offices in Sydney and Perth in Australia and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

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