Our Team

Dan Jansen is the CEO and Managing Director of Nextlaw Ventures. He has a rare combination of entrepreneurial and professional services experience. As a serial entrepreneur, Dan has helped to conceive, fund, grow and/or sell disruptive businesses in diverse sectors including legal, social media, financial services, and online recruiting. Dan is also CEO of Nextlaw Labs, a global innovation catalyst and portfolio startup accelerator. He also has twenty years of professional services experience including roles leading the Global Media Practice for the Boston Consulting Group and with Arthur Young & Company advising startups.

Joe Andrew is the Global Chairman of Dentons, the largest law firm in the world. An accomplished and highly regarded corporate lawyer, Joe may be best known for his role as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 1999 to 2001. Central to Joe’s work has been his vision for the law firm of the future, which includes Dentons’ growth, integration and reinvention. Joe is an entrepreneur, a published author, a frequent speaker on political and demographic trends, a board member of several nonprofit organizations and a member of various progressive policy organizations. He is the founder of a socially responsible mutual fund, a biotech consulting firm, a cleantech company and numerous nonprofit organizations. His spy novel, The Disciples, was published by Simon and Schuster, as was his most recent book on progressive investing and economic trends, The Blue Way.

Elliott Portnoy is the Global CEO of Dentons, the largest law firm in the world. Elliott is responsible for management of the global Firm and its unwavering commitment to integrated client service across 158 offices in 66 countries. Under Elliott’s leadership, Dentons is experiencing a period of exceptional growth and success.

Prior to the formation of Dentons, Elliott served as the youngest chairman of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, which later became SNR Denton, one of the legacy firms that combined to create Dentons. Elliott has been recognized as a prominent public policy lawyer by multiple publications and organizations, including successive editions of Chambers USA, most recently as a “Top Washington Lawyer.” He has also been called “inspiring” and a “dynamic and ambitious go-getter” by the Washington Business Journal, and cited as one of the top lobbyists in the nation by Washingtonian magazine. In addition, he has received multiple awards from nonprofit organizations for his community service and pro bono contributions