By Sara Merken
NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Global law firm Hogan Lovells and New York-based Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft have agreed to merge, they said on Thursday, creating a combined group with 3,100 lawyers and $3.6 billion in annual revenue.
The merger will bring together Hogan Lovells’ international business and finance clientele with that of Wall Street’s oldest law firm, they said. The proposed transaction is subject to a partnership vote, set to be held in 2026.
The firms said the deal, which follows a string of major transatlantic and U.S. law firm tie-ups, would create the world’s fifth largest law firm by revenue.
Cadwalader’s co-managing partner Pat Quinn in a statement said the merger would make it part of “one of the world’s most formidable legal platforms.”
Cadwalader has lost several groups of partners in the past year.
The New York firm was one of nine law firms that reached deals with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year, after the White House issued executive orders against other firms that restricted access to government buildings and officials and federal contracting work
Mirroring the other firms’ agreements, Cadwalader pledged $100 million in pro bono legal work to causes supported by the administration.
Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar is set to lead the combined group, which will be named Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
On Monday, Chicago-founded Winston & Strawn and UK firm Taylor Wessing said they expect to combine in May. The UK’s Ashurst and Perkins Coie said last month that they plan to merge in the third quarter of next year.
(Reporting by Sara Merken in New York; Editing by David Bario and Jane Merriman)
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