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Amid rumors of merger talks, Hogan Lovells…

Law Firms Amid rumors of merger talks, Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling say they always look for opportunities

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 3, 2023, 12:58 pm CST

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A handful of lawyers have left Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling amid reports that the two law firms are in merger talks.

Three Hogan Lovells lawyers based in Boston plan to open a litigation boutique that focuses on white-collar criminal defense and complex civil litigation, report Reuters and Law.com.

And five Shearman & Sterling partners based overseas are reportedly leaving the firm, according to anonymous sources who spoke with Law.com.

The new litigation boutique will be called Silva, Kettlewell and Pignatelli.

Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling gave statements to Law.com that said they always consider opportunities. There was no confirmation of merger talks, however.

The Hogan Lovells statement read: “As a leading global law firm, we regularly review our global strategy and opportunities that we believe may be available to us, and that includes discussions with different firms in the market. This demonstrates our confidence in our unique offering and our balance of practice areas, global footprint and sector strength.”

Shearman & Sterling’s statement read: “We continuously consider the various levers of growth that are accessible to us as part of our strategic planning process. These include both internal and external opportunities that would benefit our firm and our clients. Beyond that, we never comment on market rumors or speculation.”

Hogan Lovells has more than 2,532 lawyers, and Shearman & Sterling has 727 lawyers, according to Law.com. If there is a merger, the new firm would be in third place in the revenue rankings.

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