Hogan Lovells Expands Presence in New York and Other Markets with the Appointment of 30 Partners

Hogan Lovells Expands Presence in New York and Other Markets with the Appointment of 30 Partners

Global law firm Hogan Lovells announced on October 27 that it will be welcoming more than 30 partners from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, including some of the country's most renowned commercial real estate lawyers, as well as first-tier New York litigation and transactional attorneys. The group comprises lawyers from Stroock's offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, and Los Angeles.

The mass hiring of lawyers from Stroock & Stroock by Hogan Lovells is seen as a coup for the latter firm after the merger talks between the two law firms failed.

According to reports, the merger talks began in early 2023 and ended in August without a deal due to "strategic differences" between the two firms.

When Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar was reappointed to his position in September, he articulated the firm's commitment to expansion in key markets, such as New York by attracting high-performing lateral groups who recognise Hogan Lovells as a premier destination for top-tier talent.

“This is a premier group of extremely talented lawyers who will significantly expand our presence in New York, as well as add to our real estate capabilities in other important markets. We are on a mission to grow in the U.S., and this is an outstanding opportunity to deliver on our strategy to invest in premium practices and expand our client relationships,” Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar said.

Zaldivar added: “Culturally, this group is very aligned with Hogan Lovells—our commitment to putting our clients at the centre of everything we do is consistent with their representation of top financial institutions, corporations, investment funds, and professional services firms.”

The Stroock team comprises industry-leading real estate attorneys with a prominent national presence and a dominant position in New York City across all facets of commercial real estate. This includes their representation of various clients, such as developers, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and REITs.

“This elite group fits extremely well with our firm—particularly with our top U.S. REITs practice, which recently completed the largest REIT merger transaction ever, our nationally recognized sports practice, and our top tier EMEA real estate practice,” David Bonser, Managing Partner for the Corporate team, Americas stated.

The Stroock group also significantly enhances Hogan Lovells' commercial litigation services in New York, bringing with them a wealth of experience representing leading financial services, professional services, and other companies and clients in a wide range of high-stakes litigation, including securities litigation, class actions, and state AG matters.

In addition to its commercial litigation prowess, the Stroock group also includes highly regarded transactional lawyers who have structured some of the largest and most complex transactions in history in areas involving commodities, derivatives, and energy transactions. This follows on the heels of the recent transformative growth of Hogan Lovells' corporate practice in the New York office, which welcomed eight new lateral M&A and corporate partners in the last two years.

Among the lawyers joining Hogan Lovells are those with vast experience in government contracts, bid protests, and public policy.

“We looked carefully at several attractive options to grow our practices. We chose Hogan Lovells because of its top-ranked REIT practice, which is a unique opportunity for our real estate lawyers, and because the firm is well known for handling sophisticated litigation matters and complex, multijurisdictional transactional matters. And as one of the very few truly integrated global law firms, Hogan Lovells has a culture that is attractive to us,” Jeff Keitelman, who has served as co-managing partner of Stroock and co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate Group, said.

Keitelman added: “The group of attorneys joining the firm is proud of the success we’ve had serving our clients and building premier, market-leading practices. We are confident that Hogan Lovells, with its platform of unmatched depth and breadth in the market, is the right place for us to serve our clients and grow our practices, and we are excited to do so with our new friends and colleagues.”

The partners are expected to join Hogan Lovells in mid-November, subject to the closing of their agreements.