Lawyer Monthly Magazine - March 2020 Edition

21 MAR 2020 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Lawyer Moves Recent Appointments Dentons has launched a previously announced combination with Kensington Swan in New Zealand to further its Australasia growth strategy. Along with previous combinations in Australia and Papua New Guinea, the launch strengthens the foundation for Dentons to become the preeminent global law firm in Australasia and positions Dentons as the largest global law firm in New Zealand. With new offices in Auckland and Wellington, Dentons can now connect clients to a team of more than 100 lawyers in New Zealand who can meet the needs of clients across a wide range of industries. “Clients identified the New Zealand market as a priority and our launch in New Zealand means that we can now meet client needs in New Zealand and connect clients to 10,000+ lawyers in 182 locations and 74 countries around the globe," said Elliott Portnoy, Global CEO of Dentons. "Our combination with leading law firm Kensington Swan in New Zealand will continue Dentons' momentum in Australasia, enabling us to attract even more talent in this important region for Dentons and our clients globally," said Joe Andrew, Global Chair of Dentons. "Dentons has seen significant growth in the region since 2016 and with new offices in Auckland and Wellington Dentons is now a regional powerhouse who can provide clients with access to legal talent in all of the major Australasian markets," said Doug Stipanicev, CEO of Dentons' Australasia Region. Dentons Kensington Swan is recognised as a leader in the Financial Markets, Infrastructure and Government sectors and has a strong reputation in the Environment, Education, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Energy sectors. The combination leads to significant synergies in light of Dentons' strengths in each of these areas. David Campbell, Board Chair of Dentons Kensington Swan said, "We are thrilled to launch our combination with Dentons as we can now provide clients with the greatest access to top-tier legal talent in the most locations, worldwide." Dentons Expands in Australasia with New Zealand Launch Baker McKenzie has added leading M&A lawyers Lisa Fontenot and Derek Liu as partners in its Northern California offices, as the Firm continues to expand its high- end transactional capabilities in the Bay Area. Lisa brings 25 years of experience leading public and private M&A transactions and counselling boards of directors on their most important matters. She has represented clients across a variety of industries, including leading technology companies. Lisa has represented both US and international strategic buyers and sellers successfully completing cross-border acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and investments and private equity/venture capital investor investments in, and equity dispositions of, portfolio companies and related securities matters. Lisa also advises public companies as to securities regulation, corporate governance and activism matters. She joins the Firm after practising for more than 20 years with Gibson Dunn. Derek brings extensive experience advising on public and private M&A transactions, with a focus on the technology and life sciences sectors. At his prior firm, Derek worked on transactions with an aggregate value of more than $100 billion, and was named as a "Rising Star" by Northern California Super Lawyers. Derek's practice includes mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, tender and exchange offers, joint ventures, minority investments, and other strategic corporate transactions, representing both strategic and private equity clients. Derek joins Baker from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he was a partner. "Lisa has a widely acknowledged reputation for excellence and service to our community," said Leif King, Baker McKenzie's Head of Corporate/M&A for California. "And Derek has an extensive history of advising on some of the largest and most challenging transactions in the tech sector. I am thrilled to partner with them as Baker continues its push to be the leading M&A firm in Northern California." The Firmhas added a series of highly regarded practitioners to its M&A team following the arrival of Leif King in August 2019. In addition to Lisa and Derek, the firm has added Partners Lawrence Lee and Tom Asmar, as well as new associates, bringing the total number of M&A lawyers in Baker McKenzie's Northern California offices to 23, making it one of the largest M&A practices in the Bay Area. Baker McKenzie Adds Two Star M&A Partners in Northern California