Transatlantic firm plans expansion in US, South America and Asia

SNR Denton has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan following the new transatlantic firm's formal launch last week.

The newly-merged firm – which was formed by the union of City firm Denton Wilde Sapte and Chicago's Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal – has said it will launch a Houston office within nine months and is in advanced discussions to enter South America.

The firm has also conducted a major market research exercise in preparation for further expansion into the Asian market. Legacy Dentons already had an office in Singapore, while Sonnenschein did not previously have an Asian presence.

In addition, London has been singled out as a key area for growth, with plans to strengthen the banking practice to match the firm's US capital markets practice.

The firm also wants to add capability in insurance as well as hotels and leisure in London, two of the combined firm's eight core sectors which Dentons did not previously focus on.

Separately, the firm has taken on five new partners in the US in the last two weeks. The new partner additions in the US come from Morgan Lewis (John Funk, outsourcing, Dallas), Greenberg Traurig (Mark Hogge, intellectual property (IP), Washington DC), Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton (Mark Riera, litigation, Los Angeles) and Andrews Kurth (Scott Kline, IP, Dallas). The firm has also added Sean Cenawood in New York, who comes from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

SNR Denton co-chief executive Elliott Portnoy (pictured) said: "Our appetite for growth is substantial and the focused way with which we executed the combination is suggestive of the aggressive approach we will take to growth going forward."

The merger was backed in a partner vote in June, creating a top 50 global law firm with revenues of around £500m.