Hogan Lovells has unveiled a record set of financial results for FY24, when the transatlantic firm grew net revenue by 8.7% to $2.97bn against a 12.1% rise in profits per equity partner (PEP) to $3.07m.

Revenue per lawyer was also up from $1.07m to $2.00m, an increase of 3.0%. 

The results follow a strong FY23 for the firm, when revenue and PEP grew by just over 10% and 20% respectively after a subdued FY22 when those metrics dipped by single figures amid a decline in transactional work as deal markets cooled against the background of persistently high inflation and political instability. 

Nonetheless, the previous three financial years have been the firm’s best overall in terms of financial performance.  

The firm pointed to balanced growth across its practices as a driver for its latest results, alongside a strong balance sheet, careful management of expenses and promotion and retention of talent. 

Hogan Lovells’ CEO, Miguel Zaldivar, commented: “Our continued strong financial performance is a testament to the success of our strategy and clients’ confidence in our ability to help them navigate their most complex issues – particularly in highly regulated sectors in the G20 economies – while preserving our ‘Balance, Balance, Balance’ strategic approach. This consists of our multiple practice area offerings, which are global in reach and span across 15 sectors.

“The strength of our global and balanced platform, which serves as a stabilising force in both favourable and challenging market conditions, is demonstrated not only by solid compounded bi-annual revenue growth, but also by the expansion of our institutional client base and the market’s recognition of the high-quality work we perform across our markets.”

In terms of regions, like last year, the Americas contributed around half (49%) of total billings, while EMEA’s share stood at 46% and Asia-Pacific generated the remaining 5%. Billings in the US were up by approximately 14% from the previous year. 

The breakdown by practice area was also much in line with FY23, with corporate and finance representing 41% of global revenue, global regulatory and intellectual property 30%, and disputes 29%.

Standout work for the firm’s corporate and finance team included representing the Republic of Ghana in closing its restructuring of its $13bn outstanding Eurobond debt and acting for Walmart on its $2.3bn acquisition of television manufacturer Vizio.

Meantime, on the disputes side the firm worked with clients including the Republic of India and B. Braun Manufacturing. It also represented Vodafone in the long-running Phones4U litigation that saw the High Court in London dismiss the latter’s claims that Vodafone had colluded with other telecoms companies to withdraw business from Phones 4U and so caused the retail chain’s collapse back in 2014. 

The firm boosted its partnership with 28 internal promotions at the start of last year, in a round that saw it move closer to its targets to have 30% of its global partnership be women by 2025 and 15% of its US and UK partners identify as racially or ethnically diverse. 

Since the start of last year, the 2,800-lawyer firm has added more than 55 corporate and finance lawyers in Italy from White & Case, Orrick and DLA Piper and boosted its Paris disputes offering with a team from White & Case led by Jean-Pierre Picca, a prominent former prosecutor and advisor to then French president Nicolas Sarkozy. 

It has also added five partners in Singapore across private equity, M&A, disputes and tech regulation and last month recruited two partners from BCLP’s highly rated class action team in London as it seeks to capitalise on a surge in cases before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, among other partner lateral hires. 

Going the other way, last September Hogan Lovells announced it would close its offices in Johannesburg, Sydney and Warsaw and lay off its staff in those locations, citing a focus on “strategic markets” like London, New York and California. The firm’s Warsaw team jumped to DWF last December, while in Australia partners have joined Jones Day and in South Africa there have been exits for Bowmans and ALN Tanzania.