Dentons, the world's largest law firm, has launched a combination with elite law firm, Fernanda Lopes & Associados Advogados (FL&A) in Mozambique.  On the heels of 2021 combinations in Tanzania and Nigeria, today's launch strengthens Dentons’ presence in Africa with the addition of key location, Maputo.

Established in 1995, FL&A Advogados is a full service law firm with five partners and 15 additional lawyers. The firm was formerly part of ALN (Africa Legal Network) for several years. Founding Partner Dr. Fernanda Lopes is Chambers-ranked and specializes in Dispute Resolution and Corporate Law. FL&A Advogados has strengths in Corporations, Contracts, Labor, Property and Real Estate, Intellectual Property and Trademarks, Litigation and Tax. The practice and sector synergies of Dentons will give the combined firms a competitive advantage in international panel competition and build on Dentons’ strength in these areas.

Mozambique is Africa’s third-largest holder of liquefied natural gas, and has the largest power generation potential in Southern Africa from untapped coal, hydro, gas, wind and solar. It is also strategically located: four of the six countries it borders (Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Swaziland) are landlocked, and hence depend on Mozambique as a gateway to global markets.

“The combination with FL&A Advogados builds upon our strategy to become the leading Pan-African law firm owned and controlled by Africans and located in key markets,” said Elliott Portnoy, Global CEO of Dentons. “Mozambique, with its vast potential across multiple sectors including energy and infrastructure, is a priority market for our clients. Combining with FL&A Advogados allows us to connect clients to leading talent in Mozambique and to our more than 20,000 colleagues around the globe."

“Our clients continue to look to us to help them navigate the constant, accelerated change they face in this New Dynamic Decade," said Joe Andrew, Global Chairman of Dentons. " We are committed to combining with firms like FL&A Advogados to help make us a magnet for local talent. Together, we have the experience and confidence to help our clients navigate their unique needs - across 12 African countries and 204 locations around the world."

On a continent scarred by the legacy of colonial domination and in a market where the operations of every leading law firm are hierarchical, Dentons’ unique polycentric and anti-colonial approach has been a stark differentiator, disrupting the traditional model for providing legal services in Africa. Dentons' combination with FL&A Advogados further advances Dentons’ strategy to become the leading Pan-African law firm owned and controlled by Africans, helping clients to navigate the New Dynamic Decade across 17 locations in 12 African countries.

In Africa, Dentons now has a presence in:

"Dentons' strategy is focused on finding combination firms who have the proven ability to offer sophisticated, high-quality legal services and business solutions in their home markets," said Noor Kapdi, CEO of Dentons’ Africa Region. "We quickly identified FL&A Advogados as a key player in the Mozambique legal services market, led by exceptional talent who are dedicated to delivering solution-oriented services to clients."

In 2021, Dentons has launched combinations with:

• East African Law Chambers (EALC) in Tanzania;
• Davis Brown (Iowa) and Sirote (Alabama) in the United States,
• Nigerian law firm ACAS-Law,
• Paz Horowitz in Ecuador; and
• Guevara & Gutierrez in Bolivia.

The firm has also opened locations in Grenada and Montevideo Zona Franca.

To respond to market demand for complementary services on a truly global scale, Dentons also launched Dentons Global Advisors in June, a strategic advisory firm that provides integrated solutions for clients in an increasingly complex, regulated and interconnected business environment.