Mike McNamara
Dentons just combined Bingham Greenebaum and Cohen & Grigsby under its Dentons US umbrella, a move in line with “Project Golden Spike,” an initiative to establish Dentons as a “truly national law firm in the U.S.” Now operating under Dentons Bingham Greenebaum and Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, the member firms add offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Implementing a polycentric, dual-partnership model, Bingham Greenebaum and Cohen & Grigsby will have the autonomy to maintain their defining characteristics, while also allowing their attorneys to be members of both their current firms and the new, national partnership.
The new U.S. Region will be overseen by a management committee led by Dentons US CEO Mike McNamara; Dentons Bingham Greenebaum Managing Partner Keith Bice; Dentons Cohen & Grigsby President and CEO Chris Carson; and Dentons US Managing Partner Mary Wilson. Toby McClamroch, the former managing partner of Bingham Greenebaum, is now managing partner of Dentons’ U.S. region.
In addition, Carson will join McNamara on the global management committee, and additional partners from the new U.S. region will join the global board.
When asked about integration efforts, the firm said the U.S. region management committee and “multiple leaders across the new U.S. region — both lawyers and business services staff — have been instrumental in supporting the launch and advancing the client service strategy behind the new partnership. Practice leadership across the U.S. is focused on client needs and integrating lawyer talent. In addition, business service areas including IT, finance, practice management, and client & markets are deeply active and collaborating. There has also been an extremely high level of engagement from partners and clients around the globe, with more than 90 client introductions made prior to the launch.”
Named after the golden spike that was driven to commemorate the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, “Project Golden Spike” echoes a similar ambition as it aims to provide Dentons’ suite of legal services across the entirety of the U.S.
