Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

With 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices, the law firm of Hogan & Hartson has agreed to merge with the giant British law firm Lovells. The transaction is expected to close in Mid-December and become effective in May 2010.  This will create a 2,500 lawyer firm with 40 offices across the world and revenue of $2 billion.

Following is the joint press release:

Management Groups at Each Law Firm Recommend Combination to Partnerships

LONDON and WASHINGTON, D.C., October 29, 2009 – Hogan & Hartson LLP and Lovells LLP announced today the unanimous support by management of both firms to combine their partnerships. Management at Hogan & Hartson and Lovells will make unanimous recommendations to their respective partnerships to go forward with the proposed merger of equals. The proposed merger is subject to approval by both partnerships. Documents setting out the terms of the proposed merger will be sent to partners of both firms during the latter part of next week.

The plan to move forward follows meetings involving partners of Hogan & Hartson and Lovells over a period of several months. Each firm has looked closely at its strategic business objectives and the ways in which a merger would benefit their clients.

The proposed merger would create a top 10 global law firm with approximately 2,500 lawyers in 40 offices located throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Beyond the strategic business fit of Hogan & Hartson and Lovells, the combined firm would have significantly increased capabilities to handle complex, cross-border work in all key international markets.

Both firms are planning a series of partner meetings to discuss the proposal in detail over the course of the next few weeks. Each firm will need to put the merger proposal to a partnership vote, which is expected to take place around the middle of December. The effective date of the merger is expected to be May 1, 2010.

"This would be the first transatlantic merger of two top 30 global law firms, creating a unique global firm covering the U.S. and other international markets. The Hogan & Hartson/Lovells combination complements each firm's capabilities from a practice, geographic, and industry perspective," said J. Warren Gorrell, Jr., Chairman of Hogan & Hartson, "and would preserve the collegial and team-oriented cultures of each firm and our commitments to community service. This merger strengthens our ability to provide the highest quality service to our clients on their most important and challenging matters where they need us most."

David Harris, Managing Partner of Lovells, commented: "The strong similarities in the fundamental values of each firm, combined with the powerful business rationale for the merger, are a compelling proposition. 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. We have very complementary areas of legal strength, such as in corporate, M&A, finance, regulatory law, dispute resolution, and intellectual property."

About Hogan & Hartson

Hogan & Hartson is an international law firm founded in Washington, D.C. with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide.

Hogan & Hartson has offices in Abu Dhabi, Baltimore, Beijing, Berlin, Boulder, Brussels, Caracas, Colorado Springs, Denver, Geneva, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Moscow, Munich, New York, Northern Virginia, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Warsaw, and Washington, D.C.

For more information about the firm, visit www.hhlaw.com.

About Lovells

With over 3,000 people operating from 28 offices in Asia, Europe and the United States, Lovells is one of the world's leading international law firms. We advise many of the world's largest corporations, financial institutions and governmental organizations. We regularly act on complex, multi jurisdictional transactions as well as some of the most high profile commercial disputes. Lovells is an international legal practice comprising Lovells LLP and its affiliated businesses. Lovells LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC323639. Registered office and principal place of business: Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2FG.

For more information about the firm, visit www.lovells.com