Partners at international law firm Hogan Lovells and New York-based Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft have signed off on their merger to create a 3,100-lawyer firm with $3.6 billion in combined revenues, marking the second major legal industry tie-up to move forward this week.
The two firms said in a statement on Wednesday that their partnerships voted to approve the deal. The merger will take effect July 1, said Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar. Zaldivar will serve as CEO of the newly combined firm, named Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
Cadwalader was one of nine major law firms to reach an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump last year, after the White House issued executive orders against other firms that restricted access to government buildings and officials and federal contracting work. As part of the agreement, Cadwalader pledged $100 million in free legal work to causes supported by the administration.
Cadwalader co-managing partner Wes Misson declined to say whether Cadwalader’s agreement with the Trump White House would carry over to Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
“That’s old news, we’re here today to talk about the future and what this transformative merger means for the legal industry and for our clients,” he said.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader said their combined firm will have the second-largest office of any law firm in Washington, D.C., as well as large offices in London, New York and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The merged firm will keep Hogan Lovells’ Midtown office and Cadwalader’s Wall Street office in New York, which are near important shared clients JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, Zaldivar said.
“Keeping the Wall Street headquarters for New York just underscores the Wall Street pedigree of the combined firm,” said Pat Quinn, a co-managing partner of Cadwalader.
Quinn will serve as global managing partner for client and practice integration at the merged firm. Misson will be the finance practice’s global managing partner. Both will sit on the firm’s international management committee.
Hogan Lovells said last month that it grew its top line and increased its partner profits by double digits in 2025.
Cadwalader last month reported a 3.3% revenue decrease in 2025, generating $616 million in a year beset by partner departures. Despite the year-over-year decline, Cadwalader said last year was the 234-year-old firm’s second-strongest year ever for revenue, and it said it hired more than 100 lawyers in 2025.
Zaldivar said they have “not contemplated in the integration any downsizing.”
The merger was approved days after partners at UK-founded Ashurst and Seattle-founded Perkins Coie signed off on a combination between their firms.
Source: Reuters.com