Global law firm Dentons and Phillippines firm PJS Law have officially kick-started their combination close to one year after announcing the planned launch. This marks Dentons’ latest push into South and Southeast Asia in recent years, having combined with Vietnamese law firm LuatViet in 2022 and Indian peer Link Legal last year.
Under the combination, PJS Law, functioning as a member firm of Dentons under its current name and local control, will see its partners included in Dentons’ leadership and the Swiss Verein firm’s global advisory committee, among others, Elliott Portnoy, the global CEO of Dentons, said in an interview with Asia Business Law Journal.
“PJS Law partners will be actively involved in our global industry, firmwide sector and practice groups,” Portnoy said.
Partners of both firms voted to agree to combine earlier last year, but discussion on the combination had started more than five years ago, Regina Jacinto-Barrientos, the CEO of PJS Law in Metro Manila, said.
Jacinto-Barrientos, whose firm specialises in advising on energy, infrastructure, M&A, conflict resolution, banking, finance and capital markets, knows exactly what her firm wants to double down on to drive greater growth with access to Dentons’ global resources post-combination.
“We are targeting the industries that we have the biggest impact, (and) are very much focused on infrastructure that aligns with the Philippine government’s push. We want to combine infrastructure and energy solutions that are clean and reasonable or reduce energy costs that will allow manufacturing to transfer into the Philippines,” Jacinto-Barrientos said.
“Let the work come to the Philippines,” she added.
