The roots of DLA’s high profile raid on Denton Wilde Sapte go back a long way – to Denton Hall’s merger with Wilde Sapte and before. That deal plugged the finance-led Wilde Sapte into the over-stretched Denton Hall’s international network. It made sense for Dentons’ robust energy practice, as well as its project finance, corporate and property teams, but it was less clear where entertainment, already somewhat out on a limb, fitted in.
Nevertheless, the impact of the defection of an 11-partner team on a firm that has been on a rollercoaster ride these past few years should not be underestimated. In this time Dentons has dismantled its European alliance, closed (with rather odd timing) its entire Asian network and instituted the largest domestic redundancy round of any City law firm.
