Lovells and Hogan & Hartson are discussing a merger which could result in the creation of one of the world’s largest firms, and one which would rank 28th in terms of the number of lawyers in Asia.

The firm’s worldwide management committee – which includes Asia and Middle East managing partner Crispin Rapinet – will be weighing up the merger in a meeting in late October. It is believed that the merger was initiated by the Hogan & Hartson side.

If successful, the merger could create a global legal powerhouse with 2,800 lawyers worldwide, according to ALB 50 figures. This would put it only slightly behind Clifford Chance in terms of overall size. In Asia, the firm would be the 28th largest, with 243 lawyers.

The merger would be advantageous to US-based Hogan, whose 54 lawyers in Asia would be supplemented by Lovells’ 189. Hogan would also gain three offices through Lovells – in Singapore, Dubai and Vietnam – with Lovells gaining an Abu Dhabi office. In total the merged firm would have an Asia and Middle East regional presence extending across Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Dubai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Vietnam, as well as its many US and UK offices.

When contacted by ALB, Asia-based partners at both Hogan and Lovells could not comment, but a Lovells spokesperson provided the following statement: “We review our US strategy on a regular basis and we have recently been taking a closer look at market developments and the opportunities that we believe are available to us. Beyond that, we are not in a position to comment further and are not going to start naming or confirming individual firms or the nature or progress of any discussions we might be having with them.”

While the transatlantic merger would be the first of its kind, some leading legal figures said that the merger is not likely to have a significant effect on the Asian legal market. “You have many firms, and many independent firms, growing in China and Malaysia and Asia as a whole, so I don’t think this means they will be dominating the Asian legal market,” said one source. “It’s impossible for the merged firm to take over the China, Korea and Japan markets. If you look at the JSM tie up, I don’t think that has made a huge difference on the market either.”

While a decision would depend on a partnership vote later this year, management at both firms would have to look at issues over brand transition and the cultural differences between UK and US firms. “Traditionally there have been problems with US and UK tie ups because of the cultural differences,” said a source. “The US firms are based on a meritocracy and UK firms are based on the lockstep. It doesn’t mean they can’t work it out but it will be something to consider.”

“The name issue would be a very difficult one for the partners; names are always one of the hardest things because there’s a lot of goodwill associated,” said a source. “Both firms are likely to trade with both names for many years.” 

Lovells + Hogan & Hartson in Asia & M.E

 Firmwide revenue (2008/09) 

Source: ALB 50, *The American Lawyer.

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