Dentons’ Global CEO and Founder Elliott Portnoy to Step Down

Dentons’ Global CEO Elliott Portnoy will be stepping down as leader of the global law firm next year.

After more than a decade in the role, Portnoy will not be seeking another three-year term as Dentons’ global CEO after his current term expires in November 2024, he said in a statement.

“Serving as Global CEO and as one of the founders of Dentons has been a source of immense privilege and pride as we built the world’s largest and leading global law firm,” Portnoy said.

Over the next year, Portnoy will work with the firm’s governing global governing bodies to help identify his successor. The firm is looking at both internal and external candidates with the help of an external search firm, it said.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure a smooth and successful transition,” he said.

As chairman of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, Portnoy helped engineer its 2010 combination with UK-based Denton Wilde Sapte to create SNR Dentons, predecessor firm to the current Dentons, a legal giant with more 12,000 employees around the globe.

Portnoy’s decision not to seek another term comes roughly a year after Dentons chairman and former Democratic National Committee chair Joe Andrew said he would not be seeking another term. The role of global chairman was retired from the firm after Andrew stepped down this year.