Ordre des Avocats au Barreau du Cameroun
Conseil de l’Ordre
Cameroon Bar Association
Bar Council
Avenue Charles ATANGANA, derrière le Mess des Officiers - Olézoa B.P. 13488 – Tél. : (237) 652 70 91 22/(237) 655 72 36 98/(237) 222 22 03 85 www.barreaucameroun.org - e-mail : oabc@barreaucameroun.org
Le Bâtonnier de l’Ordre The Bar President
OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUÉ ON THE PURPORTED ESTABLISHMENT OF DENTONS IN CAMEROON
The President of the Cameroon Bar Association has been alerted by colleagues, the business community and stakeholders to communications widely circulated on professional social networks, notably LinkedIn, on the specialist platform Africa Legal, and on the official website of Dentons (www.dentons.com), alleging they established presence in Douala, Cameroon, of Dentons, through a partnership with the local law firm, Kouengoua Minou Nkongho (hereinafter "SCP KMN"), renamed SCP Dentons KMN.
This is not an isolated case. It forms part of a broader trend observed over recent years, whereby "global" or "international" law firms seek to claim a formal local presence in Cameroon through partnership or referral agreements with domestic firms. The scale of the most recent communications, emanating directly from Dentons, the world's largest law firm by number of countries, makes public clarification indispensable.
This communiqué is also an occasion for the Bar to reaffirm its commitment to the development of Cameroonian law firms, the protection of their economic and professional rights, and the strengthening of their capabilities in the context of the globalization of legal practice.
I - The Facts: Communications That Leave No Room for Doubt
From October 2024, Dentons publicly announced its entry into Cameroon in the following terms:
Official Dentons Press Release (17 October 2024)
"Building a presence in Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia and Senegal accelerates Dentons' momentum in building the leading Pan-African law firm, owned and controlled by Africans. As the first global law firm located in the cities of Douala, Kinshasa, Addis Ababa and Dakar, Dentons is well-positioned to serve our clients."
Source: Official Dentons communiqué, 17 October 2024, republished by The Global Legal Post, LawFuel, Iberian Lawyer, among others.
Dentons Official Website (consulted April 2026) read thus:
"Founded in 1984, Dentons KMN (formerly Kouengoua Minou Nkongho, 'KMN') is a full-service law firm based in Douala."
Source: www.dentons.com/en/global-presence/africa/cameroon/douala
These communications unambiguously present the SCP KMN as a component of the Dentons global network, under the name "Dentons KMN". Such a presentation contravenes the regulations governing legal practice in Cameroon and is misleading to clients, investors and parties as to the legal nature and status of the entity they are consulting.
II - The Applicable Legal Framework
Legal practice (by the Bar) in Cameroon is governed by two foundational texts: Law N° 90/059 of 19 December 1990 organizing practice at the Bar, and Ministerial Decision N° 41/DPJ/SG/MJ of 12 April 2005 on the homologation and publication of the Internal Regulations of the bar.
Section 5(1) of Law N° 90/059 provides thus: