London—Dentons has won two awards at the Law Society Excellence Awards, which are presented annually by The Law Society of England and Wales – one for the Firm's innovative approach to the delivery of legal services in today’s international marketplace and the other for the bringing together technology and law in the provision of services for clients.

Dentons won the award for 'Excellence in International Legal Services' for the successful launch of its own legal referral network, Nextlaw Global Referral Network. Unlike other such networks, Nextlaw Global Referral Network does not charge law firms a membership fee or demand territorial exclusivity. The Firm has disrupted the "pay-to-play" legal referral industry by shifting the overriding principle from fees to quality. It recognises that networks are more likely to connect clients to the right lawyer with the right experience in the right place if multiple firms from the same jurisdiction are permitted to be members. By treating other firms as collaborators and not competitors, Dentons believes that the combination of the world's largest law firm working together with the world's largest referral network represents the future of the legal profession.

The Firm also won the award for 'Excellence in Technology' for the development of a number of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools designed to help clients plan around the uncertainty created by Brexit. Working with Nextlaw Labs, Dentons developed a software application that creates a 'Brexit Action Plan' for clients based on their key areas of risk exposure. The Firm also collaborated with Nextlaw Labs to develop a cognitive search engine tool with AI software company RAVN Systems that automatically reviews high volumes of contract documentation that could be impacted by Brexit.

In addition to taking home these two prizes, Dentons was also highly commended in the category of 'Excellence in Learning & Development' for the intensive development and training programme it created for lawyers who are on track to become partners.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony held in London on 19 October 2017. Dentons was also shortlisted for awards in the categories of 'Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion' and 'Excellence in Business Development', and TMT associate Majdi Silk was shortlisted for 'Junior Lawyer of the Year'.

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