Dentons Partner Meeting

I was spending a week at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, paid for by my firm, and Dave could come along for an extra $50.  He wanted nothing to do with it!  Dave knew the week would be an all-work deal, and that is what it was--a very fancy, all-work deal.  I stayed at the Moon Palace in Cancun from May 11, 2022, until May 17, attending non-stop "plenaries," small group meetings, and receptions.
 

The Moon Palace is a fancy place, with many hotel annexes surrounding central swimming pools, and a huge auditorium in one hotel (the "Grand") and multiple large ballroom/meeting rooms in another hotel ("Sunrise").  

Each morning the 2000 or more partners from Dentons' international network met for "plenary" meetings, hosted by Joe Andrews and Elliot Portnoy, the founders of the 12,000 lawyer Dentons firm.  They announced the latest firm news--new offices in Viet Nam and Libya--and used skits and huge, colored charts and images to help us better understand the firm's reach, policies, finances, and goals.

The plenary presentations were entertaining.  One day, Joe and Elliott did a skit portraying the “right” way to introduce a client to the firm, focusing on the client’s concerns rather than talking about the law firm’s history and prowess.  The client was Joe Blowhard in the “hot air” and “inflatable” business.  Huge balloons in the shape of animals kept floating up and over the bar at which the men were sitting--Joe Blowhard's products.  “My crocodile likes you,” Joe said about the green balloon that hovered about Elliott.  The point of giving us the information in the form of a skit, they explained, was that people remember 10% of what they read, 40% of what they both read and see, 70% of what they read, hear, and see, and even more if the information is presented in a unique or humorous way.

And, of course, there were sessions on rainmaking and finances--the life blood of law firms.

We spent the rest of our days in group meetings, sliced and diced by specialty and geography.  I attended meetings with real estate lawyers from all over the world, and then just from the U.S. Because I am the chair of my firm's diversity committee, I also attended diversity initiative meetings with lawyers from all over the world, and then with just U.S. lawyers.  I attended a reception with board members from all over the world, and I talked with a woman from the UK who had been in charge of relocating the firm's Ukrainian lawyers from war-torn Kyiv and separating the firm from its 250 Russian lawyers.  I attended another presentation on doing business in China, during which the firm's China lawyers gave a panel presentation over Zoom.  They couldn't attend the retreat because of Covid, but they got up at 3 a.m. to give a live Zoom presentation from Shanghai!

I didn't go swimming or sunbathing, but I did walk by the pools and beach just to verify that they were there.  One evening, I attended a reception for women real estate lawyers from around the world at a beach-side bar.  The organizer was a lawyer from Paris, and there were other women from Argentina, Australia, Germany, Florida, and several other spots.

I decided to survive the rigors of the event by promising myself that, if I was a "good girl" and attended meetings all day, I could skip some of the evening receptions and eat at as many of Moon Palace's excellent restaurants as I could fit in.  The food catered during the day to the meetings was only so-so, but the food in the artfully decorated restaurants was delicious. 

One of the restaurants served French specialties.  When I said I didn't drink wine, the waiter served me juice that looked just like wine!

Another night I ate in a Peruvian restaurant, with a tent-like ceiling.

The salad included plantains and calamari.

I treated myself to three desserts!

Another evening, I ate at a Middle Eastern restaurant.

The highlight of the meal was the belly dancer.

The last night of the meeting, there was a fancy party right outside my balcony, with lights, food, and live singers.

I lounged on my marble porch, next to my private hot tub, listened to the music, and feasted on the colored lights.  I had already met a week's worth of people, and it felt good to hear the good vibes but not be right in the middle of the crowd.