Hogan, Lovells To Form Global Superfirm

By Liz McKenzie

Law360, New York (October 29, 2009) -- Following rumors of a partnership in the works, Lovells LLP and Hogan & Hartson LLP confirmed Thursday plans to combine and form a 2,500-attorney international megafirm.

Management from the firms are currently making recommendations to their respective partnerships to move forward with the proposed merger, the law firms said.

The terms of the proposed merger will be sent to partners at the two firms at the end of next week, and the deal is subject to approval by both partnerships, they said.

The merger between Washington-based Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells will result in one of the largest law firms in the world, with more than 2,500 attorneys.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the deal could result in $2 billion in annual revenue.

"This would be the first trans-Atlantic merger of two top 30 global law firms, creating a unique global firm covering the U.S. and other international markets,” Hogan & Hartson chairman J. Warren Gorrell Jr. said.

“The Hogan & Hartson/Lovells combination complements each firm's capabilities from a practice, geographic, and industry perspective and would preserve the collegial and team-oriented cultures of each firm and our commitments to community service,” Gorrell said.

Lovells managing partner David Harris had equally enthusiastic comments on the advantages of the partnership.

"The strong similarities in the fundamental values of each firm, combined with the powerful business rationale for the merger, are a compelling proposition,” Harris said. “Both of us are seeking to create a truly global law firm capable of delivering a top quality service across the world’s major commercial and legal markets.”

The firms have “complementary areas of legal strength” in areas of law such as corporate, mergers and acquisitions, finance, regulatory, dispute resolution and intellectual property law, he said.

The combination will also establish a network of offices located throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, which would boost its capabilities for handling complex, cross-border work in key international markets, the firms said.

According to the firms, a partnership vote on the proposed merger will take place in mid-December and, if approved, the merger’s effective date would be May 1, 2010.

Whispers of a possible merger between the two began surfacing in early October, and legal experts have predicted that the deal may put pressure on other U.S. firms to consider similar marriages.

“I think there has been significant discussions ongoing among U.S. and U.K. firms over the last year,” said Gary Klein, founder and president of legal recruiting firm Klein Landau & Romm Inc. “The pressure to get serious about that is going to be intense if this merger takes place, because now somebody will have done it.”

Ward Bower, a principal at legal consulting firm Altman Weil Inc., noted that both Lovells and Hogan & Hartson have expanded aggressively over the years, but have been managed well and been able to maintain high levels of profitability.

“It appears that Hogan and Lovells are both thinking in terms of a global corporate and commercial strategy, and neither of them have the weight to throw to be able to do it by their own organic development,” Bower said.

“They need some kind of a blockbuster like this to give them the critical mass to compete with the [Baker & McKenzie LLPs] and [DLA Pipers] and the like of the world,” he said.

--Additional reporting by Jocelyn Allison and Pete Brush