Patrick Larrivé (Dentons): "If you really want to develop a region, it’s important to be on the ground"

What is the history of Dentons in Africa?

Dentons traces its presence in Africa to the establishment of a Cairo, Egypt, office in 1964, more than 50 years ago. Clients are at the heart of our strategy and since Cairo we have launched in Casablanca, Cape Town and Johannesburg, with plans to launch in Kenya, Mauritius and Uganda later this year. Through the establishment of the firm's Africa Region, Dentons intends to build a high-quality pan-African capability that captures Africa's economic power houses as well as many of the smaller legal markets.

The Dentons model developed in response to the demands of our clients. We have local capacity on the ground in the form of Dentons lawyers. Our lawyers are more connected to local customs and communities, and therefore the solutions they find are more suited to our clients’ needs. We strongly believe that law firms should be more global and less international. The way our clients approach market places has changed. It is very clear that the associate model of fly in and fly out does not work for our clients and they demand a different approach on the ground in Africa.

The firm will open later this year in Kenya and Mauritius - why did you choose those markets in particular?

Dentons is set to combine with firms across Africa in Mauritius, Kenya and Uganda as we continue our global expansion. Dentons will join forces with Hamilton Harrison & Mathews in Kenya, Mardemootoo Solicitors and Balgobin Chambers in Mauritius, and Kampala Associated Advocates in Uganda. Our new offices in Mauritius and Kenya complement our growing pan-African presence, including our intent to launch in neighboring Uganda. Our expansion in Kenya will build on our east Africa presence in Uganda, while our combinations in Mauritius will help us pursue our overall Africa growth strategy. Dentons' combinations in Kenya, Mauritius and Uganda will further allow us to pursue our Africa strategy to become a pan-African law firm that reaches more of Africa than our competitors.

We have one common aspiration with the firms we combine with and that is to bring high-quality, global legal services to clients. The combinations in Africa would allow Dentons to continue our journey from largest to leading, as clients benefit from the advantages of seamless, world-class service in one of the world’s most economically dynamic regions. Clients within or investing in each of those locations will benefit from high-quality legal service on a truly global scale that Dentons can offer. We provide quality through quantity, giving clients access to the deep local knowledge that is provided by lawyers who are both in and of the communities they serve.

Concerning mergers, how does Dentons identify and integrate external firms?

First, we try to identify the major markets for our clients in order to serve them directly on the ground. Second, we try to identify growing markets, and when we identify them we need to find viable partners. We need to make sure that the local firm that will combine with Dentons is in line with Dentons’ strategy and philosophy. Dentons has a polycentric approach, so we need to make sure that the team that is going to join Dentons is really integrated into the local community but is also able to integrate with a global law firm with a level of seamlessness and able to maintain our standards of quality.

We believe, and our clients tell us, that it is important to work with lawyers that marry sector expertise with a credible Africa offering. Our clients want to know that when they instruct Dentons in South Africa or Dentons in Morocco they will achieve that same level of service on an African deal spanning several African countries. Through our offices on the ground we provide that level of certainty. We apply knowledge gained from 60+ years of doing deals in Africa with the specialist insight of our African partners effecting change on the continent today.

How is the firm structured in Africa?

Dentons is organized by regions worldwide and last year Africa was established as a region on its own. This demonstrates that we want to develop the region, but autonomously. We develop Dentons in Africa from the African continent, which is different from other firms which run it from the Middle East, London, Paris or New York. If you really want to develop a region, it’s important to be on the ground.

What are the focus areas of the Casablanca office?

We have two partners and 25 people in total on the ground in Casablanca. I have been permanently based in Morocco for almost 18 years now. We have a diverse client base, both in terms of sector of activity and origin. We work mainly for Moroccan groups and on investments in Morocco and the rest of the continent. In addition, we also act for various international clients, including private equity, real estate and infrastructure funds, not only in Morocco but also all over French-speaking Africa, and we also act for clients that come through the Dentons network. We also have a Chinese desk here in Casablanca in order to serve Chinese clients investing in the francophone Africa region. Chinese groups are investing quite a lot in Africa, particularly in large projects in the natural resources, infrastructure, energy and agriculture sectors.

Can you describe Dentons’ development in Francophone Africa?

What we are very proud of is the development we have had outside Morocco in North, Western and Central Africa. We have long-term experience in all these regions, and we have been working for more than 25 years on these regions’ day-to-day issues. We are able to offer a full service from Casablanca to our clients with the ability to provide Dentons services from both a technical and client service point of view. Our clients investing in Morocco and Francophone Africa are delighted to have one point of contact permanently based in Africa and able to provide a full service across Francophone Africa.

What are the next steps for Dentons in Africa?

What I can say is that we will continue to develop. Certainly, in the future, Dentons will have a presence in the fastest-growing and largest countries on the continent.