Announcement of a major merger of Dentons US with McKenna Long & Aldridge rocked the Atlanta and national legal community and demonstrates the globalization of top law firms. This week’s news comes on the heels of the combination of Dentons and the biggest law firm in China, which has created the world’s largest law firm. The powerhouse firm will be led by co-CEOs Jeff Haidet, the chairman of McKenna Long, and Peter Wolfson, the CEO of Dentons US.
A press release from McKenna summarized the legal client benefits, as well as the domestic and international growth of the combined firm. InsiderAdvantage will follow future breaking news of this merger, which will be completed later in 2015. In the meantime, check out the influential and bipartisan government affairs team that has been brought together.
It includes the global chairman of Dentons and the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Joe Andrew, along with the following:
- Howard Dean- former governor of Vermont and ex-chairman of the Democratic National Committee;
- Ron Kaufman- former White House political director under President George H. W. Bush;
- Gordon Giffin- former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and Democratic Party fundraiser.
- Randy Evans- counsel to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, counsel to former U.S. House Speakers Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert and a Georgia Republican National Committeeman.
- Eric Tanenblatt- former chief of staff to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and advisor to the late U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell, R-Ga.
- Thurbert Baker – former Georgia Attorney General
- David Skaggs – former Congressman from Colorado
- Bill Owens – former Congressman from New York
- Buddy Darden – former Congressman from Georgia
- Anthony Williams – former Mayor of Washington, D.C.
- Scotty Greenwood – former chief of staff to the U.S. Ambassador to Canada
- Amy Stephens – former House of Representatives Majority Leader in Colorado
- Cindy Gillespie – senior counsel to Gov. Mitt Romney
- Keith Mason – former White House Intergovernmental Affairs advisor to President Bill Clinton and former chief of staff the Georgia Gov. Zell Miller
- Chuck McMullen – former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.
- Tharon Johnson – former Southern Regional Director for the 2012 Obama For America campaign
- Mark Burkhalter – former Georgia Speaker of the House and longtime state legislator.
- Craig Johnson – former State Senator from New York
- Kathleen O’Connor – former Counsel to Governor of Connecticut
- Dennis Smith – Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Bush Administration
- Alex McGee – former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Energy
- Lisa Ellman – former Senior Counsel in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy and Obama White House Official
- Ben Dunham – former Counsel, Legislative Director, and Chief Counsel to late US Senator Frank Lautenberg
- David Fine – former City Attorney in Denver
- Bill McCollum – former Attorney General and Republican Member of Congress (R-FL)
- Van Hilleary – former Republican Member of Congress (R-TN)
- Jeff Modisett – former Democratic Attorney General (D-IN)
- Terry Goddard – former Democratic Attorney General (D-AZ)
- Todd Bertoson – former Staff Director, Senate Commerce Committee
- Sander Lurie – former Chief of Staff to two Democratic Senators
- Seth Harris – former Assistant Secretary of Labor, and Acting Secretary of Labor
- Rodney Ellis – long-tenured member of the Texas Legislature
- John Russell – Chief of Staff for Republican House Leadership
- Ambassador Robert Gelbard – former U.S.Ambassador to Indonesia and the Balkans
- Kelvin Simmons – former Missouri Commissioner of Administration, Director of Economic Development, Chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission and State Director for the Office of Equal Opportunity
- Stephen L. Hill, Jr. – former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
