McKenna Long & Aldridge, the super-connected law giant that casts an outsize shadow in Atlanta, will be no more -- at least in name.
Wednesday evening the lawfirm announced a merger with Dentons, the world's largest law firm, effective later this year.
From today's premium/print edition, Dan Chapman has this:
Dentons already counts 6,500 lawyers and advisers worldwide and tallied $1.3 billion in revenue last year. McKenna Long's 434 lawyers and public policy advisers, as well as more than $300 million in annual revenue, will be added to the mix.
"We were presented with the opportunity to go big and go global," said Jeff Haidet, the chairman of McKenna Long who becomes a co-CEO with Dentons' Peter Wolfson. "Obviously, our big corporate citizens in Atlanta already have experience internationally. Now, a lot of middle-market companies will be able to take advantage of our network of relationships and skills to help navigate the global marketplace."
McKenna Long is intertwined with Georgia politics. Here's the lead of a 2010 piece by our AJC colleague Bill Torpy:
But that's all good for McKenna Long & Aldridge. The Atlanta- and Washington-based law firm has continually --- and unashamedly --- positioned itself to be a player in the corridors of power, where a phone call to the right official can make things happen.
"People in the firm have relations in and knowledge of government, " said Clay Long, the 74-year-old lawyer on the firm's nameplate. "Sometimes you have to know where to go and how to get in the door to allow you to make your case."
Dentons is no slouch in the political arena, either. McKenna Long sent over a sampling of what its merged government affairs team looks like:
· Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont and Chair of the Democratic National Committee;
· Ron Kaufman, former White House Political Director under President George H. W. Bush;
· Gordon Giffin, former US Ambassador to Canada;
· Eric Tanenblatt, former COS to Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and senior advisor to the late US Senator Paul Coverdell;
· Anthony Williams, former Mayor of Washington, DC;
· Four former US Congressman; and
· Four former state attorney generals.
Bloomberg BNA has some additional background on the deal:
The deal shows how the legal industry is consolidating, as law firms market themselves to corporate clients as a one-stop shop with offices around the globe.
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