Thirty-lawyer Malaysian firm Zain & Co has become a member of Dentons’ global network, the second firm in an ASEAN country to do so this year after Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners in Indonesia.

Strong presence

The 13-partner Zain was established in 1970. Led by managing partner Zain Azlan Zain Azahari, its key practice areas are banking and finance, corporate, dispute resolution, real estate, and intellectual property. It has also established a number of new practice areas, including cybersecurity, blockchain technology, IP litigation, high net-worth Islamic estate planning, and film and media. Zain has been part of Dentons’ NextLaw referral network since last year. ‘The launch today of our expansion in Malaysia with one of the best firms there will help us build on our currently strong South East Asia presence,’ said Philip Jeyaretnam, SC, Dentons’ global vice-chair and ASEAN CEO, in a statement.

Pan-Asia ambitions

Dentons, which operates as a Swiss verein, now has a presence in 74 countries globally, including in other ASEAN jurisdictions like Singapore and Myanmar. Earlier this year, it added two firms in the Caribbean, a firm in Kenya, and two firms in Mauritius to its network. Elliott Portnoy, Global CEO of Dentons, said ‘the launch of this combination with a truly high-quality firm in Malaysia gives us an even stronger presence in South East Asia and will further allow Dentons to pursue its strategy to become a pan-Asian law firm that reaches more of Asia than its competitors.’