Hogan Lovells has unveiled a record set of financial results for FY25, when the transatlantic firm grew global revenue 10.8% to $3.3bn against a 14.7% rise in profits per equity partner (PEP) to $3.5m.
Revenue per lawyer was also up from $1.1m to $1.2m, an increase of 10.3%.
The results come off the back of a major shake-up of its international network that saw it close its Sydney, Johannesburg and Warsaw offices at the start of 2025.
And they are the last for the firm ahead of its planned merger with US firm Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, which will go to a partners’ vote later in the spring.
Hogan Lovells’ latest numbers mark the third consecutive year of record results for the firm, after a subdued FY22 when revenue and PEP dipped by single figures amid a decline in transactional work as deal markets cooled against the background of persistently high inflation and political instability.
The firm put the results down to strength across its practice groups, sectors and regions, particularly the US, where it noted PEP had grown by 24%.
CEO, Miguel Zaldivar, commented: “This has been another year of strong growth for the firm, driven by our ability to meet the challenges our clients are facing globally – regulatory complexity, cross-border risk and geopolitical change.
“Our strength in highly regulated sectors remains a core differentiator and integral to our client service. With our sector expertise and global reach, we advised clients on their most complex mandates around the world, resulting in revenue growth in 2025 across every practice group and every region.”
In terms of regions, like last year, the Americas contributed around half (50%) of total billings, while EMEA’s share stood at 46% and Asia-Pacific generated the remaining 4%. Billings in the US were up by approximately 12% from the previous year.
The breakdown by practice area was also much in line with FY24, with corporate and finance representing 42% of global revenue, global regulatory and intellectual property 30% and disputes 28%.
Standout transactional work for the firm included advising Ukraine’s government on its landmark mineral rights agreement with the US government and acting for Oxford Ionics on its $1bn sale to US quantum computing company IonQ.
Zaldivar pointed to the strength of the firm’s trade practice as a key driver of its success in the past year.
“Many of the most complex transactions are happening in highly regulated industries where the ability to navigate regulatory risk is critical to the deal,” Zaldivar said. “Our strength advising clients across these industries fuelled double-digit global growth for our corporate and finance group even as the transactional market navigated disruption in 2025.”
On the disputes side, Hogan Lovells represented PrivatBank on an English High Court judgment ordering former owners to pay over $3bn in damages and costs, following findings of large-scale fraud perpetrated against the bank.
Meanwhile, the global regulatory and IP practice handled matters including advising Stonepeak Partners on US government contracts, national security and aviation regulatory issues in connection with the $3.1bn acquisition of Air Transport Services Group.
The firm boosted its partnership with 28 internal promotions last January and over the course of the year added 49 new lateral partners globally.
The hires included nine partners in Italy who joined from rivals, including White & Case and DLA Piper and who work across restructuring, M&A, private equity, capital markets, leveraged finance and private credit.
The firm also boosted its bench in Brussels with the hire of a two-partner trade team from US rival Steptoe and in the Middle East with the hire of the head of Eversheds Sutherland’s M&A practice in Saudi Arabia, Walid Salib.
In September 2024, Hogan Lovells said its Johannesburg, Sydney and Warsaw offices would be wound down and closed “in the coming months” to help it focus on “strategic markets” where clients looked to it for support on “sophisticated, high-end work”. Around 120 professionals were affected, including 13 partners.
If Hogan Lovells’ merger with Cadwalader goes ahead, it will form the world’s fifth-largest law firm by revenue, with a combined turnover of more than $3.6bn. The deal is slated to go live in July.
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