Dentons has unveiled a new global practice leadership structure, appointing senior lawyers across nine practice groups as the world’s largest law firm by headcount seeks to improve coordination across its international network.
The appointments, announced on 4 November, will see leaders from London, New York, Dublin, Toronto, Singapore and other major centres oversee key practices including corporate and M&A, disputes, banking, restructuring and technology.
The three-year appointments were approved by Dentons’ Global Management Committee and form part of a streamlined structure intended to improve cross-border collaboration and client service.
Global CEO Kate Barton says the changes will make Dentons more accessible and consistent across its 175-plus locations in more than 85 countries.
For Dentons, the challenge is familiar to any sprawling international law firm: turning geographical reach into genuine commercial advantage.
The restructuring reflects a wider priority for large law firms where size alone is no longer enough as clients increasingly expect integrated international advice, consistent service and fewer internal barriers between offices.
The Dentons media announcement is below –
Dentons appoints new Global Practice Leaders to enhance the global client experience
November 4, 2026 – Dentons, the world’s largest global law firm, has announced the appointment of its new global practice leaders, further strengthening how the Firm brings together its capabilities to best serve its clients’ evolving needs.
Appointed by the Firm’s Global Management Committee, the leaders will work closely with Dentons’ global sector leaders and teams to deepen collaboration and deliver an enhanced client experience.
This streamlined practice structure will allow for greater collaboration across borders, improved efficiency and will bring together diverse perspectives and capabilities to help clients navigate increasingly complex challenges.
“Strong cross-border collaboration is fundamental to how we deliver for our clients,” said Kate Barton, Dentons’ Global CEO. “Our ability to seamlessly connect them to the right people and capabilities, wherever they need it, is a significant part of that. This new framework is designed to make Dentons more accessible and consistent for our clients across our presence in more than 175 locations in over 85 countries.”
Dentons’ nine focused global practices will be led by the following individuals:
Banking and Finance – Chair Nick Hayday
Nick is a partner in Dentons’ London office and Head of Banking and Financial Services Division UK and previously served as Global Co-Chair for the Banking & Finance Group. Nick focuses on a wide range of securities work, including advising underwriters and issuers in connection with issues of debt, liability management exercises, equity, equity-related and Islamic Finance securities in international markets.
Corporate / M&A – Co-Chair Eavan Saunders
Eavan is the managing partner of Dentons’ Dublin office, country head of Ireland and a member of the Firm’s UKIME Region Board. She represents clients across multiple sectors including financial investors, global multinationals and domestic Irish founder-owned and operated companies.
Corporate / M&A – Co-Chair Kimberly Burns
Kimberly is a partner in Dentons’ Vancouver office where she leads the Mergers & Acquisitions practice and is a member of the Dentons Canada Region Board. Kimberly advises global businesses on their most significant M&A, capital markets, and corporate governance matters including control transactions.
Disputes – Co-Chair Karyn Harty
Karyn is a partner in Dentons’ Dublin office where she is head of the Litigation practice group and previously served as Global Co-Chair of Disputes. Her focus is on complex commercial litigation and investigations. She has expertise in asset recovery, white collar defense and media defense.
Disputes – Co-Chair Roberto Lipari
Roberto is a partner in Dentons’ Rome office and head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice in Italy and Europe. He has extensive experience in litigation and international arbitration and regularly represents sovereign entities, as well as domestic and foreign clients across different industries and jurisdictions.
Employment and Labor – Chair Purvis Ghani
Purvis is a partner based in Dentons’ London office and previously served as Global Chair of the Firm’s Employment and Labor group. He advises on all areas of employment law and covers contentious, non contentious and transactional matters across a range of industries, including financial services, technology, media and information sectors.
Intellectual Property and Technology – Co-Chair Karol Laskowski
Karol is a partner in Dentons’ Warsaw office and is head of its Intellectual Property and Technology practice team and Dentons’ Europe TMT Sector Group. He advises clients across technology, entertainment and telecommunications – from streaming platforms and production companies to video game studios – on regulatory, IP and commercial matters.
Intellectual Property and Technology – Co-Chair Robert Wasnofski
Bob is a partner based in Dentons’ New York office and advises clients on resolving trademark, copyright and patent disputes across a broad range of industries including fashion and luxury goods, media, sports and entertainment, financial services, pharmaceuticals, electronics, telecommunications, and the toy and automotive industries.
Public Policy and Regulation – Co-Chair Eric Tanenblatt
Eric is a principal based in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He previously served as Global Chair of Public Policy and Regulation and currently serves on the Dentons US Board. Eric brings deep expertise in government and public affairs and is a trusted advisor to CEOs, boards, and investors navigating complex legal, regulatory, and reputational challenges.
Public Policy and Regulation – Co-Chair Dr Ilka Mehdorn
Ilka is a partner at Dentons’ Berlin office, a member of the Dentons Europe Board, and Europe head of the Public Law & Regulatory practice group. With extensive experience advising businesses operating in highly regulated industries, she combines deep legal expertise with a strategic, commercially focused approach to guiding clients through complex regulatory projects, particularly in the areas of environmental law, producer responsibility and in the healthcare and life sciences sector.
Real Estate – Co-Chair Evan Lazar
Evan is a partner based in Europe and previously served as Co-Chair of the Global Real Estate group at Dentons. He specializes in multi-country property investment, joint ventures, and finance matters and leads on real estate transactions involving single assets to large portfolios in Europe and globally in the logistics, data center, residential, office, retail and hotel sectors.
Real Estate – Co-Chair Esme Cragg
Esme is a partner in Dentons’ Toronto office, and her practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financing, joint ventures, project development and commercial leasing.
Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy – Co-Chair Andreas Ziegenhagen Andreas is a partner in Germany and European head of the Restructuring practice. He focuses on providing legal and tax advice on corporate transactions, restructuring and insolvency law, corporate tax law, corporate law, banking law and accounting law.
Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy – Co-Chair Susan Moore
Sue leads, and is a partner in, the UKIME Restructuring and Insolvency practice. She has vast experience in advising on complex and high-profile cross-border and domestic restructurings and insolvencies, as well as associated litigation. She is based in London.
Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy – Co-Chair Kenneth Kraft
Ken is a partner in Dentons’ Toronto office and previously served as the Regional Co-Lead of the Global Insolvency team. Ken has extensive experience in both domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring proceedings.
Tax – Chair Jurjen Bevers
Jurjen Bevers is a Tax partner in Dentons’ Amsterdam office, head of the European Tax practice and a member of the Dentons Europe Board. He specializes in Dutch corporate tax law and international tax law.
Tax – Deputy Larry Nevsky
Larry is a partner and head of the Firm’s Toronto Tax group where he focuses on all aspects of income tax and corporate tax planning. Larry also serves as a member of Dentons Canada Region Board.
Tax – Deputy Alex Thomas
Alex is a partner and head of the Dentons UK & Middle East Tax practice. He advises multinational clients on international corporate, commercial and real estate tax matters and is widely recognized as one of the pre-eminent advisers in the global tax risk insurance market.
Tax – Deputy Linda Pfatteicher
Linda is a partner in California and head of Tax in the US. She focuses her practice on international corporate tax and operational structuring, including global expansion, global transfer pricing strategy, supply chain restructurings, intangible property planning, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, post acquisition integration and tax controversies.
Tax – Deputy Chun Ying Ng
Chun Ying is a senior partner based in Singapore and is the Head of Tax practice of Dentons Rodyk. She has extensive experience advising and representing multinational corporations and individuals on a broad range of cross-border tax issues, as well as tax disputes.
The appointments are held for three-year terms.
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