当霍金豪森和路伟12月15日在美国华盛顿宣布将进行合并后, 路伟亚洲区管理合伙人袁瑞平 (Crispin Rapinet) 立即投入忙碌工作，以确保所有合并事宜能在2010年5月1日正式生效日前顺利完成。
袁瑞平表示未来四个月将是一个充满挑战的时期，但是所有的律所员工都因为能够有幸参与此次意义重大的合并过程而感到兴奋和自豪。
就此次合并可能将会对法律服务市场带来的影响而言，他表示，两所的合并将为其他国际律所带来更多竞争压力，从而可能催生更多类似跨大西洋的“对等合并”。
此次合并反映出两所对全球市场管制和复杂法律问题越来越多的关注，这一关注不仅集中在美国和欧盟市场，袁瑞平同时指出，新兴亚洲市场也是合并的主要动因之一。
“两所合并后将能够在亚洲市场整合优化资源，取得规模效应和更大发展的前景，的确是两所着重考虑的因素之一，”他说。
合并后的律所名称为Hogan Lovells，该所将成为全球最大规模的律所之一，同时成为在大中华区人数规模第五大的国际律师事务所。在亚洲区域内，该所律师总人数将达到220人，在北京、上海、香港、新加坡、胡志明市、河内以及东京均设有办公室。目前，两所在亚洲地区业务收入的总和为全球业务总收入的6% （约为1亿美元）， 但双方坚信在合并后几年内该比例将大幅上升。
As the Hogan-Lovells merger nears, Lovells' Asia regional managing partner Crispin Rapinet is already rolling up his sleeves for an extremely busy four months ahead.
Within 24 hours of the 15 December announcement, he had met with his partner-to-be Steve Robinson, Hogan & Hartson's co-managing partner for Greater China; the next morning, he delivered a speech to all the Lovells lawyers and staff in Hong Kong, briefing them on the benefits the merger will bring.
"It's a really exciting time for us and every member of the firm feels privileged to be a part of it," said an upbeat Rapinet. "There will be many challenges in the next four months, but there will be great fun too."
Many observers tip the Hogan-Lovells deal to be the catalyst to a whole raft of similar deals across the Atlantic as firms jockey for position in the post-GFC market, and Rapinet gives them credence. "The combination of two major firms will change the market place because of the competitive pressure it puts on other firms. My guess is that we will see more transatlantic mergers over the next few years," he said.
| "What we will achieve in Asia through the merger is indeed a significant part of the rationale for doing the deal" |
The merger, to take effect on 1 May 2010, will create the ninth largest firm in the world and the fifth largest international firm by headcount in Greater China. In Asia, the combined firm will have more than 220 partners and lawyers across offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, and Tokyo. The revenue contribution from Asia will be about 6% (approximately US$108m) of the current US$1.8bn worldwide turnover of the merged firm - but this figure is expected to grow significantly.
Creating a global firm with a substantial presence and capability in the US and Europe is the obvious key rationale for the merger, but the growing importance of the Asia market, particularly that of China, and the long-term commitment of both firms to the region is another impetus.
"For Lovells, one of the attractions of the merger is the quality of the US client base that Hogan has, and for us in Asia that's a significant factor, because US-driven investment continues to be a significant factor in the market. So what we will achieve in Asia and what we can achieve through the merger is indeed a significant part of the rationale for doing the deal," said Rapinet.
Another important aspect of the China market for Lovells lies in the outbound investment trend. "We've been consciously seeking to target outbound work from Chinese private corporates and state-owned enterprises. We can advise clients on every aspect of the transactions in Europe, but our ability to serve their needs in the US was a slightly limiting factor for us. However, being able to provide quality and comprehensive services in the US has become increasingly important, so now with the merger we can offer clients that," said Rapinet
The merger also nicely addresses the fact that Hogan & Hartson doesn't have a very large presence in Asia. Its 40 lawyers in the region will now be supplemented by Lovells' 128; meanwhile, it will gain two new office locations through Lovells' existing presence in Singapore and Vietnam.
"Hogan has a fantastic US client base, but its practice in Asia is not large enough to fully service its clients' need. The merger with Lovells will give it the ability to service these clients through a much broader practice in Asia in terms of the geography and the practice areas," Rapinet said.
Jun Wei, the co-managing partner of Hogan & Hartson's Greater China practice based in Beijing, said the strong cultural compatibility between the two firms, and the fact that they complement each other well in terms of practice areas offered and industries served as well as geographic reach, were some of the main reasons why the merger would be favourable.
The Sino-Global Legal Alliance (SGLA), which was founded by Lovells and nine leading regional PRC firms in different major cities in 2007, is a significant differentiating aspect of Lovells' practice and offering in China. Now with 13 PRC member firms and more than 1,300 international and domestic lawyers under its auspices, it was unsurprisingly a factor in the merger discussion.
"The SGLA is something we obviously have discussed with Hogan partners, and they are interested in it and they need to understand it and see how it operates. We'll continue to build and develop our offering with the SGLA and hopefully it will continue to reap rewards for all of us," said Rapinet.
The SGLA members, meanwhile, are aware of the development and some have already expressed their support for the merger. "We welcome the addition of the US expertise and the access to more quality US clients and considerable resources in the US that will be brought to the SGLA by Hogan & Hartson. It will be beneficial to the PRC member firms and our domestic clients," said Cheng Shoutai, the managing partner of Chengdu-based SGLA member firm, Tahota.
While the two firms still need to achieve certain regulatory clearances before deciding fee rates and salary scales, both sides have already started focusing on the integration process. The four months leads up to 1 May will be critical, as the firms will be working together closely on a lot of things, such as the IT platform, HR policies, office premises, leadership, and overlapping staff and practice areas.
"The biggest challenge for us is integration. The integration is the key to making the merger work. It will only work if we come together as one firm as quickly as possible," Rapinet said.
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