Dentons has launched a risk consulting business to provide advisory, assurance and remediation services across the regulatory, operational, conduct and enterprise risk agendas in a cost effective and client-focussed way. Dentons Risk Consulting is led by former Norton Rose Fulbright duo John Davison and Christian Blackwell, both chosen for their industry knowledge and consulting experience.

Aligning services

Dentons Risk Consulting supports senior management, compliance and risk functions, enabling them to evaluate and enhance their risk management systems, and implement change where necessary to correct and prevent issues. The unit helps front office risk and control teams develop, evaluate and enhance their governance arrangements, tools and frameworks and control environments, as well as analyse and implement regulatory change and respond to regulator interventions. It delivers practical preventative and detective risk management solutions, tailored to meet the specific needs of each client and project. In addition to engaging the unit for specific assignments, clients will also be able to use Dentons Risk Consulting to support their ongoing risk management needs. Jeremy Cohen, Dentons ceo for the UK and Middle East comments, “Clients increasingly want their law firms to be holistic service providers as well as trusted legal advisers. Dentons is already on the panels of many of the major global financial institutions, advising them on their biggest transactions and most complex disputes. Now we will be able to offer them a broader service supporting them to operationalise compliance and risk management, aligning legal and non-legal services into an overall offering.”

Sustainable solutions

Mr Davison, who has worked for over 20 years in senior risk and compliance roles in global banking institutions as well as for the UK regulator and as a management consultant, explained clients are looking for “efficient, tailored and sustainable solutions that address their specific requirements in a manner that fits their business model and is aligned with their strategic aims.” Mr Blackwell, who has spent over 20 years as a management consultant, including 14 years with PwC, added “While initially focussed on UK financial services institutions, the flexibility of our model will enable us to service clients outside of this arena.” Dentons UK managing director Lisa Sewell said, “The launch of Dentons Risk Consulting follows the establishment earlier this year of our UK Regulatory and Trade group” to offer clients “a holistic compliance and regulatory service.”