Gingrich joins world’s largest law firm

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has joined Dentons, the largest law firm in the world, the firm announced on Wednesday.

Dentons global CEO, Elliott Portnoy, told The Hill that the firm’s clients “are eagerly awaiting his arrival.”

He will serve as a senior advisor in its public policy and regulation practice and begin at the firm, which is finalizing a merger with McKenna Long & Aldridge, next month.

Lobbying, Gingrich insisted, will not be part of his job description. Rather, he will give clients “strategic advice,” he told The Hill in a phone call on Wednesday, “thinking things through and putting together ways to solve problems, ideally, before they even start.”

He said his decision to join the firm was swayed by the global reach of the firm – which has offices in more than 50 countries.

“I recognize that there is a great opportunity to bring home what I learned around the world. At the same time, there’s a great opportunity to take ideas about America, an analysis of what’s going on, and share it around the world,” Gingrich said in a Facebook video on Wednesday announcing his hire.

“I know that Dentons, with offices all over the place, has a lot of people who are curious about America,” he said. “As Henry Kissenger once said to me: ‘You can always get a group that wants to learn more about America because, frankly, we don’t understand ourselves very well either, we’re constantly changing. There’s always a new story.’”

“With this upcoming presidential election, there are going to be a lot of stories to talk about,” Gingrich said.

He was also drawn to the firm because of longtime ties with partners at McKenna, including Randy Evans and the co-head firm’s public policy and regulatory affairs practice, Eric Tanenblatt, who have each known him for decades.

Stefan Passantino, the head of McKenna Long’s political law team, once served as national counsel to Gingrich’s presidential run in 2012.