Dentons appoints junior lawyer ‘shadow executive team’ to influence senior leadership

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International law firm Dentons has for the first time appointed a ‘shadow executive team’ made up of junior lawyers. The team is designed not only to expose younger lawyers to executive decision making at senior leadership, but also to allow the firm’s leaders to listen to a range of perspectives and experiences from across the business.

In a press release on the firm’s website, Dentons says that the aim of the shadow executive team is to “bring fresh insights to the topics that matter to the firm, its clients and its people, helping to drive well-informed decisions on Dentons’ key strategic and operational initiatives”.

Comprising of “next generation leaders”, the initiative looks to future-proof the firm by opening up access to leadership for junior lawyers from the firm’s offices in the UK, Ireland and Middle East.

The shadow executive team is a consultative body who’ll make recommendations to Dentons’ executive leadership team that focus on positively impacting the firm. Topics highlighted as key for the first cohort include:

• considering how to leverage the firm’s global reach;
• embedding the culture of the O Shaped Lawyer; and
• building upon the firm’s progress in using AI.

Members are appointed for 12 months and will receive training and mentoring to support their position.

Paul Jarvis, Dentons' chief executive for the UK, Ireland and Middle East says, "I am thrilled to welcome such an exceptional group of people to our first-ever Shadow Executive Team. This team will engage in open and honest debate, bringing fresh ideas and diverse insights to enrich our leadership thinking on the topics that matter most to our clients, our colleagues and our communities.

“The team also enhances our commitment to increasing the transparency of governance and decision making in our firm as we deliver our five-year strategy."