Hogan Lovells - The Inside View

Some unions are destined for success.Hogan Lovells is a fitting example, as Richard Lorenzo, the firm’s regional managing partner for the Americas, tells us: “We are the product of a combination of two very powerful, traditional firms. That combination happened more than a decade ago, and I think that if you asked anyone, be it in the legal marketplace or within our firm, they would characterize that combination as a phenomenal success." A little over a decade ago, DC-founded Hogan & Hartson joined forces with the UK’s Lovells, and in doing so, became one of the largest law firms in the world; today it has a whopping 51 offices globally.  

“…the product of a combination of two powerful, traditional firms.”  

Key to the firm’s strategy today is its stated ability to navigate the intersection of business and government for clients. Given the firm’s DC roots, you probably won’t be surprised to discover that HL picks up high nationwide Chambers USArankings in various areas tied to this intersection, including government contracts, government relations, international trade, and food & beverages regulation. Sectors in which the firm has a strong reputation across the board include energy, healthcare, life sciences and transport. Across each of HL’s US locations, you’ll find plenty of praise for the firm’s transactional prowess in corporate/M&A and its disputes capabilities in practices like commercial litigation and government investigations. 

Read all about becoming an international trade lawyer with Hogan Lovells here>>

Junior associates were split between 11 out of HL’s 15domestic bases. DC was home to the vast majority, while New York absorbed the second-largest cohort. Other offices with a fair number of juniors included Denver, Houston, LA, Miami, and Philadelphia.  

Strategy & Future  

“Hogan Lovells had a very, very strong year in 2021 notwithstanding the challenges of the pandemic,” says Lorenzo. "But we recognize that those lingering challenges coupled by global economic challenges are ones we will continue to see in 2022. We want to continue to grow in the practices and in the regions where we see opportunities for growth. That's something that we're keen to accomplish."

“...moved to more of a national staffing approach in the US.” 

Tim Lloyd, chairman of the recruitment and oversight committee, explains that the firm has "moved to more of a national staffing approach in the US, so it doesn't really matter so much where you're sitting. Our young lawyers are working with teams across the country and on international and transnational matters, which speaks to the strength of the firm's integration."

On the topic of core areas at the firm, Lorenzo highlights corporateandfinanceas areas that have witnessed “exceptional growth over the last several years,” as well as HL’s strength in international arbitration, litigation, automotive, and sports and entertainment work. We were also told that Hogan Lovells’ cross-border regulatory practice has had a busy year, with the second largest number of hires after the corporate team. Among the prominent hires in 2022 was Chris Middendorf, who was appointed as a Director of Regulatory Affairs in January after more than 20 years with the FDA. 

The Work  

Practice groups with higher concentrations of juniors on our list included general corporate and finance; litigation; investigations, white-collar and fraud; and privacy and cybersecurity. Summer associates can sample various areas, but in DC the roaming continues for first-year associates via the office’s pool system: “There are three pools: litigation, arbitration, and employment; corporate; and what we call global regulatory, which includes intellectual property, media, and technology.” First-years can sample work from different practice groups within their designated pool before settling into a specific area by the ninth year. Elsewhere, sources spoke of a blended work coordinator/free market approach to assignment that got the thumbs up: “Having the structure to fall back on while retaining flexibility gives you the benefits of both approaches; it stops it becoming a matter of which partner likes who the most.” 

“I worked on a big deal that spread across almost 30 jurisdictions!” 

Juniors in the general corporate and finance group tend to specialize by the end of their second year. In the meantime, associates can sample “a bit of everything,” including capital markets, M&A, and corporate governance work. Working with companies in specific sectors like healthcare gave sources the chance to “learn a lot about standard practice in that industry.” Juniors quickly get to grips with cross-border deals too: “I worked on a big deal that spread across almost 30 jurisdictions! I’ve also worked with teams in Germany and Asia.” Interviewees often found themselves assisting with due diligence and ancillary documents, but also were invited to participate in client calls and conduct more in-depth research “when it’s a little slower!” Importantly, working on deals taught our sources “a lot about management and communication skills.” 

Corporate clients: Intel, UnitedHealth Group, Facebook. Advised global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin on its $4.4 billion acquisition of rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne. 

In litigation, we heard of juniors working on “a fairly wide range” of matters for clients operating in sectors like insurance, energy, healthcare, technology, and the automotive space. Chambers USA particularly praises HL’s prowess in class actions, appeals and product liability matters. One of our sources had also encountered “one-off matters pertaining to real estate and shareholder litigation.” For juniors, there’s plenty of research, drafting, and working with document review teams to keep them more than busy. An interviewee made it clear that life as a junior litigator wasn’t just about doc review and highlighted how their day was about to unfold “drafting a motion that we want to get filed and consolidating an affirmative discovery that our co-counsel has worked on.” 

Litigation clients: ResMan, Jaguar.  

“...frequently given the opportunity to present our findings to the clients.” 

Over in HL’s investigations, white-collar and fraud group, associates were assigned to “investigations that are taking place before the DOJ and specific US Attorney’s offices.” Some of the firm’s clients here operate in the food industry, and the work here involves “interfacing directly with the government and assisting clients with questions they may have” around factors like requests for information and subpoenas. For associates, this means “identifying important documents that the client needs to be aware of – I'm routinely involved in calls with clients and partners, and frequently given the opportunity to present our findings to the clients.” 

White-collar and investigations clients: Blue Bell Creameries, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Novartis. Advised Blue Bell Creameries on an investigation into one of the company’s products that was found to be contaminated with listeria and subject to a recall.  

Culture  

Integration was a theme that cropped up in our interviews, with associates drawing our attention to the impact of the national staffing system: “It has advantages and downsides. Of course, you get the feeling that you are part of a broader team, and different offices have different industry focuses, so you get exposure to that. However, you don’t always work with a fixed group of people.” Also on the plus side, “if you reach third year, you can work in an overseas office for six months, which really makes you feel like we are a whole team all over the place.” We were told that the initiative, called HL Passports, was launched in 2022, and is currently only limited to a set number of associates. 

On the whole, juniors pitched HL as a firm with a caring approach: “People at HL really care about your personal life. If you have something going on, you can tell people on your team and they will generally respect that.” This appreciation of an attorney’s personal life extended to the overall approach to hours. “In the past HL has promoted itself as a firm that’s not trying to work people to the bone,” one source told us, “and that’s been consistent with what I’ve experienced.” Another commented: “There is a general awareness that you’re not going to be working late into the night.”  Those we spoke to explained that partners had checked in with them to make sure that they were taking time off and had encouraged them to do so. “That being said, it’s still a law firm. At least during the pandemic, we’ve worked harder than ever,” a junior interjected.  

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 2,000 target 

Our survey respondents had worked an average of 53 hours in their last full working week and recorded an average of eight vacation days taken in the preceding 12 months. A junior praised the firm for “matching market rates for compensation and doing a good job of making sure they weren’t the last to do it either.”  

Associates aim for a 2,000-hour billable target each year, which makes them eligible for a bonus. 150 hours of pro bono; 50 hours of DE&I activities; and a variable number of shadowing development hours can count toward the target as part of the firm's Integration Hours program. 87% of our survey respondents agreed that bonus allocation was fair and transparent. 

Career Development  

“...partners are really willing to talk with you about your performance.” 

Like all BigLaw firms, HL is shifting to “the new world” of working and career development where a lot of “communication happens through video calls and video conferencing tech etc...”  This junior explained how in certain instances this approach had been beneficial: “Last year, we all learnt and practiced how to do witness interviews with people outside of the firm... all of this has been via Zoom, which has actually been helpful, because the real thing has had to be done via Zoom too!” HL has an online learning portal that associates can access resources from, and we also heard that “every year we ‘level set’ to make sure everyone has been exposed to specific skills that would be expected of an attorney at their specific level.” Juniors are also paired with both a senior associate and a partner mentor, with this source emphasizing that “partners are really willing to talk with you about your performance... they generally do a good job.” 

On the subject of making partner, one interviewee said: “You’re not going to find a sheet of paper that says, ‘This is what you need to do to make partner,’” but others highlighted that they were “generally aware of what to do if someone wants to make partner.” While the exact details of this journey weren’t discussed much at a junior level, this source felt there was an overarching sense of encouragement: “I don’t think anyone is told that there’s no path for them.” 

Pro Bono  

In New York and DC, associates have an opportunity to complete a four-month rotation in HL’s standalone pro bono practice: “You can focus solely on pro bono and public interest cases, while still being paid the same rate.” Even after the rotation has ended, associates keep working on the pro bono matters they’ve started. A major case of late saw the firm secure the largest wrongful conviction decision in the US: HL obtained a $75 million verdict on behalf of two brothers who were sentenced to death and imprisoned for decades over a crime they did not commit. According to Carine Stoick, Hogan’s diversity and inclusion partner for the Americas: “Collectively, we spend about 150,000 hours on pro bono cases every year.”  

Associates are also incentivized to devote time to pro bono by the firm’s billing policy: “Once you hit 1,850 billable hours, billable pro bono is unlimited. So, in theory you could do 550 hours of pro bono and qualify for a secondary bonus at 2,400 hours.” Over on our survey, 93% of respondents agreed that they had autonomy over the volume of pro bono work they took on. 

Pro bono hours 

• For all (US) attorneys:  99,589
• Average per (US) attorney:  108.6

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion  

HL has a higher percentage of minority ethnic partners than almost 85% of the firms we survey, and a higher percentage of female partners than 86% of the firms we survey. “I think a lot of the big-picture D&I stuff is run out of the DC office,” one source commented, “but they’ve brought in speakers and trainings for the firm as a whole, which have been interesting and thought-provoking.” We also heard about a diversity-focused book club in DC, where associates get together to discuss – among other things – recent diversity articles published by the American Bar Association.  

While representation of women at the firm was generally praised, it was noted that New York’s corporate group lacked women partners. HL’s CEO, Miguel Zaldivar, is one of a small number of Latino leaders at a global law firm in the US. In 2021, HL’s lawyers logged over 10,000 billable hours dedicated to DE&I activities. 

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

OCI applicants interviewed: 802

Interviewees outside OCI): undisclosed

Hogan Lovells interviews students who attend law schools across the US. Summer program hires come from a mix of on-campus meetings, relationship building through proactive outreach programs and networking, write-in applications, lawyer referrals and law school resume collections. The firm’s assessment of a candidate’s application focuses on initiative, interpersonal skills, judgment and analysis, communication skills, and an interest in community involvement. Demonstrating a sincere interest in the firm, the office of interest, and the practice of law is also important. Not all offices interview during formal on-campus programs and students are encouraged to apply directly starting early in the summer.

Top tips: 

"A little bit of preparation can go a long way. Conveying a clear and specific basis for their interest in the firm can help distinguish a student from the other applicants." – hiring partner Timothy Lloyd 

“If you’re interested in a specific practice, be able to articulate it well. Since corporate is more general, that’s fine, but with practices such as privacy or regulatory, make sure you’re able to give a good reason as to why you’re interested.” – a third-year associate 

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second stage interview: undisclosed

At the callback stage, students meet a combination of partners and associates. Prospective candidates should expect to meet a diverse group of lawyers representing a variety of practices.The questions at this stage build on the theme in the screening stage, with an added focus on understanding better how students believe they might contribute to the firm’s client-focused teams. All applicants at this stage are asked to take an assessment which measures traits and professional competencies. The assessment is an additional data point used in the consideration of applicants. Candidates who complete the assessment are provided a report highlighting their strengths and development priorities, which include coaching topics on how to approach these areas with a growth mindset and an exercise for setting actionable steps for their professional development.  From an associate perspective, sources agreed that “Hogan really values team players. We don’t want people who are going to throw others under the bus or be pretentious. All firms say they pride themselves on collegiality, but Hogan really does walk the walk.” 

Top tips: 

"We want to be sure to address the student’s interests, too, so they need to come to the callback with a good idea of what they are trying to accomplish in the interviews and how they will distinguish among employers." – hiring partner Timothy Lloyd 

Summer program 

Offers (2022): 125

Acceptances (2022): undisclosed

Summer associates are encouraged “to undertake projects that allow them to explore their professional interests, including at least one pro bono project, and provide them with opportunities to make oral presentations and prepare substantive written product.” In addition to practice specific, legal, and professional skills training programs, there’s a summer associate conference that lasts for three days and involves “meetings with firm leaders and interactive programming that gives a good understanding of the firm’s culture, vision, values and strategies for future success.” Lloyd encourages summers to be open to a range of assignments, explaining: “You never know when an assignment will spark a new interest or put you on a path that’s unexpected.” Associate sources also encouraged summers to “use your peer network. Most of my work has come from contacts I’ve met informally. People look out for each other here and there are a lot of support networks available.” 

Top tips: 

"Be proactive; lawyers actually enjoy mentoring summer associates and passing on their knowledge. The firm offers so many opportunities to develop your skills and to give back to our communities – take advantage of all you can." – hiring partner Timothy Lloyd 

And finally…  

Lloyd tells us that “the vast majority of our summer associates return to the firm as associates following graduation from law school or a judicial clerkship." 

The View From the Top: Interview with Leaders at Hogan Lovells

Chambers Associate: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you would like our readers to know about?

Carine Stoick, Diversity & Inclusion Partner for the Americas: The past two years have been remarkable for the firm. In 2020, we recorded our highest billings ever and most profitable year. In 2021, we surpassed that to achieve record gains across key metrics including total global revenue, profits per equity partner, and revenue per lawyer.

Even as the firm achieved those record financial results, we delivered on our global commitments to D&I and responsible business. From a pro bono perspective, we were the first major law firm to form a standalone pro bono practice, and collectively, we spend around 150,000 hours on pro bono work every year. In 2021, we obtained a $75 million verdict – the largest wrongful conviction decision in the US – on behalf of two brothers sentenced to death and imprisoned for decades over a crime they did not commit. We also obtained a settlement in a federal Fair Housing Act lawsuit against the City of Norfolk over the planned displacement of public housing residents, which will help ensure that the redevelopment plan includes meaningful neighbourhood choices for residents.

Timothy Lloyd, Chairman of the Recruitment and Oversight Committee: One of the things that's interesting to me is the growing focus on environmental, social, and governance issues. I think those issues are emerging as more important and going forward lawyers are going to play really important roles in addressing them. I believe the firm already is a leader in these areas, both in the US and abroad.

CA: What is your firm's strategy and how do you expect the next year to unfold?

Richard Lorenzo, Regional Managing Partner for the Americas: Hogan Lovells had a very, very strong year in 2021 notwithstanding the challenges of the pandemic. But we recognize that those lingering challenges coupled by global economic challenges are ones we will continue to see in 2022. We want to continue to grow in the practices and in the regions where we see opportunities for growth. That's something that we're keen to accomplish.

TL: One of the things that has kept us successful despite the pandemic’s challenges is the fact that we have such an integrated firm. We've moved to more of a national staffing approach in the US, so it doesn't really matter so much where you're sitting. Our young lawyers are working with teams across the country and on international and transnational matters, which speaks to the strength of the firm's integration. The firm's commitment to that approach really helped us deal with the challenges of being separated and will serve us well going forward.

CS: Since our current CEO Miguel Zaldivar and his leadership team took office in July 2020, we have demonstrated meaningful progress, and rolled out a number of initiatives to address D&I. We have women and people of colour at the highest levels of leadership at our firm, including our CEO and members of our Global Board. We now have 27% women partners globally. Of those promoted to partner at the beginning of 2022, 44% were women, 11% were from racial or ethnic minority groups, and 5% were LGBTQ+. To recognize the efforts that associates make to advance diversity and inclusion, in November 2020 we rolled out 50 hours of billable credit for D&I once they achieve a certain number of billable hours. And we're proud to share that in 2021, we dedicated more than 10,000 billable D&I credited hours.

CA: What are your core practice areas and sector focuses?

RL: If you're asking me, I would tell you international arbitration, because that's where I practice! But that's absolutely an area of focus. Corporate and finance, clearly, is an area that's had exceptional growth over the last several years. We think that we are incredibly well positioned both with our clients and in our respective markets and regions to continue to grow and excel in those areas. In terms of sectors, we are a global leader in the automotive sector, working in regulatory, litigation, arbitration or corporate and finance. Another space where we have grown over the last five years is sports & entertainment. Of course, there are areas where we always see phenomenal opportunity. Litigation from my perspective, is a practice that survives irrespective of economic ups and downs, and we continue to see opportunities for growth there.

CA: How would you define your firm's place in the legal market?

RL: We are the product of a combination of two very powerful, traditional firms. That combination happened more than a decade ago, and I think that if you asked anyone, be it in the legal marketplace or within our firm, they would characterize that combination as a phenomenal success. That combination allowed us to expand the scope and breadth of what we do, and it allowed us to practice at the highest level across the globe. I think that is the unique piece of Hogan Lovells. We are truly a global law firm that provides our clients an opportunity to be represented at the highest level with the highest level of practitioners in virtually every practice area across every sector. It's something that we've worked really hard at, to earn that space.

Melissa Gellert Neulander, Chief Legal Talent Officer for the Americas: We put our clients at the focus of everything we do, but we don’t see that as an either-or versus our associates. It really is a combination of both. We see all of these great opportunities to provide incredible service to our clients that also provide incredible development opportunities to our associates. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we find innovative ways to do that. Tim mentioned that we have this strength of being able to work across offices and practices, we've found different ways to make sure that all of our people, especially our incoming associates get to know the firm, even if it's from a distance, and have the opportunity to feel integrated.

CA: What are the most significant trends in the legal market that you feel students should know about?

RL: I have the good fortune of teaching at one of the law schools here in South Florida, and one of the things that I always talk about is how practicing law has changed. It is changing every day, in ways that I would never have envisioned. Three or four years ago, the idea of having this conversation via teams or zoom would be something I would have dismissed as absolute lunacy. Now it is commonplace, and understanding that this is a tool that is going to be with us into the future is something law firms need to recognize, and I think young lawyers expect. When I was a first-year associate, a senior associate - my mentor - told me to bring two jackets to work. Leave one on your chair and wear the other one. That way, if a partner walked by, he or she would assume that you were still in the office, either in the library or in the restroom! But that doesn't happen anymore, and young lawyers are smart enough to appreciate that you can do exceptional legal work from a park, the beach, or from your home. Law firms have traditionally been slow to move, slow to react, and I think that has to change. Our younger lawyers are, thankfully, pushing us to change, but our clients are, too. We need diversity of thought with respect to how we move things forward.

MGN: Putting all the personal, human elements of COVID aside, there were a lot of legal issues that came up with COVID. Because of our life sciences background, we were able to really be at the forefront of that, including helping our associates to be a part of that. In terms of capitalizing on other trends, it comes as one of the benefits of being a global firm, we want to make sure that our people are collaborating and making the most of our global platform. So how do we support that? By giving them opportunities to embed themselves in some of our other offices for periods of time throughout the year. We have a a new secondment program that we've just rolled out, and we're really excited about the opportunities that presents to our associates.

CA: What advice do you have for students and junior associates who are just about to embark/have just embarked on their legal career?

TL: It's really important to be engaging and proactive and not just wait for opportunities to come to you. That's not new advice, but I think it's even more important as we go forward with different kinds of flexible working arrangements. If you seek to build relationships and connections, you’ll get so many more opportunities to learn from experienced lawyers and gain exposure to interesting, challenging work.

Patrice Hayden, Director of Associate Recruitment: I think as law students, oftentimes you are exposed to just a little piece of the offering that a law firm such as Hogan Lovells can provide you. When you’re coming in and starting your careers, engage and be proactive, but also be open. There might be something that sounds like a regular project or a routine project, or you might be working with someone whose work maybe doesn’t sound too exciting. But then, when you dive into it, you find that there's so much more to it, so much that it might actually be an area of interest that you just never knew existed before.

RL: What I always say is that there's a lot of juice in this lemon, right? But you gotta squeeze it! We encourage our associates to squeeze that lemon, because every time you turn the page, there's another opportunity. There's another chance to learn. There's another chance to connect. I've now been here close to 20 years and you know, I marvel at the resources that a firm like ours offers to our people. But you really gotta squeeze the lemon, and sometimes that's not as easy as one would think. So you know, we encourage our folks to do that all the time. Because, yeah, you really do reap the benefit when you do that.