Hogan, Cadwalader Partners Approve Largest Law Firm Merger (1)

Partners at Cadwalader and Hogan Lovells cemented their merger plans with votes at each law firm that closed this month.

The combined firm, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, will begin operations in July, the firms said Wednesday. Several of Cadwalader’s key revenue generators and corporate and finance practice leaders will have a leadership position at the combined firm.

“We’re on pace for a record year in fund finance this year,” said Wes Misson, a Cadwalader fund finance partner who is taking the top spot in the merged firm’s finance practice. “We’re really leading the charge here going forward.”

The Hogan-Cadwalader merger is the largest combination between law firms in history, leaders say. The firms are forecasting a combined revenue of more than $3.6 billion, around 3,100 lawyers, and a place among the top five firms globally.

More than 95% of partners at both firms—more than 900—voted to approve the merger, said Pat Quinn, Cadwalader’s other co-managing partner.

“Having the vote almost feels like a formality,” said Quinn, who will be in charge of integrating clients and practices at the combined firm.

The partner votes close following months of cross-firm meetings among leaders to secure votes and find areas of collaboration, said Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar.

“We didn’t take this merger for granted,” Zaldivar said. He will oversee the combined firm as its chief executive.

Hogan Lovells is a transatlantic giant that considers Washington DC and London to be two of its financial engines. Cadwalader, the oldest law firm in New York, provides a significant upgrade in the Big Apple, where Zaldivar expects about half a billion in revenue by focusing on corporate and finance deals.

“We have 125 years of consistent success at the top of the market in London and now connecting London and New York—it’s quite a unique proposition,” Zaldivar said.

Key Practices

Several partners in Cadwalader’s deal and finance practices will get leadership roles at the combined firm, reflecting the importance those practices play in the transaction. Many of the partner departures in the months leading up to the merger have been in litigation practices due to conflicts of interest with Hogan clients, Bloomberg Law previously reported.

Misson will assume the role of global managing partner of the finance practice of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader. He was appointed co-managing partner of Cadwalader last September in a leadership reset that followed the departure of 30 partners in nine months.

Stuart Goldstein, a Charlotte, N.C.-based rainmaker in the capital markets practice, was named deputy regional managing partner for the Americas region of the combined firm. He’ll also serve as co-leader of the structured finance and derivatives practice.

Fund finance partner Angela Batterson and finance co-chair Holly Chamberlain will join the firm’s board, and Chamberlain will also serve as co-leader of the real estate practice.

Corporate practice chair William Mills was named office managing partner for New York, while Tim Hicks, who co-led the fund finance practice after Misson’s promotion, will become the office managing partner in Charlotte.