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City corporate push: Dentons makes M&A play with Pinsent Masons partner Levy

Dentons has made a corporate play in the City with the hire of Stephen Levy, who departs Pinsent Masons after almost a decade at the national firm.

Levy, who moved from Hammonds to head up Pinsent Masons’ corporate team in Manchester in 2006, is a specialist in cross-border UK M&A and private equity. He has advised UK private equity funds including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, H.I.G. Capital, Anchorage and Montagu Private Equity, as well as large corporates Landis+Gyr and Peel Group.

Dentons UK head of corporate David Collins, who was recruited in December last year to lead the firm’s cross border M&A push said: ‘The recent growth of our UK corporate practice combined with Dentons’ expanding international footprint, our strong profile in mid-market M&A and our enhanced reputation for equity capital markets and private equity work, provide us with an opportunity to continue to grow our market share in these areas.’

The hire follows the recent additions of Nikolas Colbridge and Martin Mankabady as is part of the global firm’s push to strengthen its corporate brand in its home market. Colbridge joined from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in September last year, while Mankabady was appointed in November from Clyde & Co.

Dentons UKMEA chief executive Jeremy Cohen said: ‘Expanding the corporate team is one of our key priorities for the region. In the UK we are consistently rated in the top tier for mid-cap M&A and over the last three years we have grown a private equity practice that has started to achieve some notable successes in mid-market UK and emerging markets transactions.’

While the firm only made up one partner in the City in its latest round of promotions, it made 21 promotions across the globe, with 79% of those newly-made partners located in the US and Canada.

Dentons recently posted a 6% increase in revenue in its accounts for the UK, Middle East and Africa as turnover rose to £157m from £148m, while overall profit before taxation climbed about 12% to £42.4m from £37.9m.

Read more about Dentons in this month’s cover feature: ‘The pitch – A new kind of global law firm emerges but can Dentons live up to the hype?