Dentons announces it is combining with the Malaysia firm Zain & Co., a long-established and elite law firm in South East Asia.

The combination will give Dentons' clients access to the experience and talents of lawyers working in 73 countries. These combinations will uniquely position Dentons to provide high-quality legal services to clients around the world.

Dentons already has a strong presence in Singapore and Myanmar, both members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and today we are also announcing a combination with a law firm in neighboring Indonesia, also an ASEAN member.

Dentons seeks to enable our clients to seamlessly access business opportunities across all ASEAN countries. In 2016, the ASEAN economy was collectively the third largest economy in Asia, and sixth largest in the world. Malaysia has a population of 31 million and a GDP of approximately US$300 million, with a strong annual growth rate of 4.2 percent.

"Clients in South East Asia, and clients wanting to do business there, will benefit from high-quality legal service on a truly global scale that only Dentons can offer," said Joe Andrew, Global Chairman of Dentons. "Our clients have access to the deep local knowledge that is provided by lawyers who are both in and of the communities they serve.”

Zain & Co. is a full-service firm with a solid reputation and strong credentials. Key practice areas are Corporate and commercial, Dispute Resolution, Real Estate, Banking, Intellectual Property and Islamic Banking and Finance. It is developing new practice areas in high-net worth Islamic estate planning, construction adjudication, and film and media. "Our expansion in Malaysia with one of the best firms there will help us build on our currently strong South East Asia presence," said Philip Jeyaretnam, S.C., Singapore Chief Executive Officer, Global Vice-Chair, and the first CEO of Dentons ASEAN Region.

Zain & Co. has been a member of Nextlaw Referral Network since 2017.

"This combination with a truly high-quality firm in Malaysia gives us an even stronger presence in South East Asia and will further allow Dentons to pursue its strategy to become a pan-Asian law firm that reaches more of Asia than its competitors," said Elliott Portnoy, Global CEO of Dentons.

In addition to the Indonesia combination, Dentons has also announced today it is combining with two firms in the Caribbean, a firm in Kenya, and two firms in Mauritius .

The combination with Zain & Co., following approval by partners and subject to meeting regulatory requirements, is expected to launch later in 2018.

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