Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader disclose 2025 revenues ahead of law firms' merger

By David Thomas and Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to D.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com)

Hogan Lovells grew its top line and increased its partner profits by double digits in 2025, the law firm said on Wednesday, surpassing $3.2 billion in annual revenue ahead of its planned merger with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Cadwalader, meanwhile, reported a 3.3% revenue decrease, generating $616 million in a year beset by partner departures.

Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar said the aim is to close the merger by the summer, following a partnership vote at both firms. He said Cadwalader's New York-centered finance practice would fill a gap in the international firm's global offerings.

Zaldivar said the practice was "the missing piece that Hogan Lovells needed to overcome, to be perceived as a top, global elite firm."

"We had it outside of the U.S., we'll have it now," he said.

Cadwalader said its profits per equity partner shrank by 6.4% to $3.47 million in 2025. The firm lost several partner groups to rival firms last year, including a 37-lawyer debt finance team that joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

The firm's struggles marked an exception in the industry, according to survey data on big law firms' performance in 2025. A report released in January by Wells Fargo's Legal Specialty Group found that law firm revenue grew by 12.6% on average in 2025, thanks primarily to a 9.6% growth in billing rates.

Wes Misson, Cadwalader's co-managing partner, said combining with Hogan Lovells gives the firm access to a broader range of practices and more offices. Hogan Lovells, the product of a 2010 merger between U.S. law firm Hogan & Hartson and UK law firm Lovells, has offices in more than 35 cities internationally.

Hogan Lovells said its global revenue grew by 10.8% last year to $3.285 billion, and average equity partner profits rose by 14.6% to $3.52 million. The Americas region was responsible for half of the firm's revenue, while 46% came from its EMEA region.

Among its cross-border work, Hogan Lovells represented the Ukrainian government in an agreement that will give the U.S. preferential access to new minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction.

The combined firm, dubbed Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, is expected to have about 3,100 lawyers globally. A Cadwalader spokesperson said a vote on the merger is expected in the spring.

The Hogan Lovells-Cadwalader tie-up is among a string of major recent merger deals. Chicago-founded Winston & Strawn and UK firm Taylor Wessing have said they expect to combine in May, while UK's Ashurst and Seattle-founded Perkins Coie said they plan to merge in the third quarter of 2026.

Law firm mergers increased by 18% year-over-year in 2025, with 59 completed mergers last year compared to 50 in 2024, according to law firm consultancy Fairfax Associates.

States, D.C. to get fees from failed Kroger, Albertsons merger, judge says

Nine U.S. states and the District of Columbia are poised to receive attorney fees and costs for their role in blocking the now-abandoned merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons, following a federal judge's ruling last week.

U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson in Oregon ruled that the states and D.C. “substantially prevailed” when the court issued a preliminary injunction in 2024 and the companies canceled the deal the following day.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the states sued earlier that year to stop the $24.6 billion merger, arguing it would lessen competition in many grocery markets.

Nelson rejected Kroger and Albertsons’ arguments that fees were unavailable because the injunction was issued under the standards of the FTC Act rather than the federal antitrust law called the Clayton Act.

The judge found the states had properly brought the case and that fee‑shifting was mandatory once they prevailed. She also concluded that precedent in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Oregon, supported awarding fees after a successful preliminary injunction.

"This ruling ensures states can continue going to bat for our residents," a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

The states must file their fee petition by March 31.

Spokespersons for the Illinois and New Mexico attorneys general declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for Kroger.

Court upholds ruling on legal fees for U.S. immigration detainees

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused this week to review a ruling from last month holding that immigrant detainees who successfully challenged their detention can recover legal fees and costs from the federal government under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

The Justice Department had asked the full 3rd Circuit to reconsider the decision, which was issued by a three-judge panel on the appeals court last month. The full court voted 11-5 on Monday against reconsidering the ruling.

The five judges who voted in favor of rehearing were all appointed by President Donald Trump and included Emil Bove, Trump's former personal lawyer.

"We are now on the wrong side of a circuit split regarding the government's sovereign immunity from EAJA fee awards in habeas proceedings initiated by aliens," Bove wrote in a 50-page dissent. Some federal appellate courts have ruled that former immigration detainees cannot obtain fees under the law.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Judges have held more than 4,400 times since October that Trump’s administration had detained immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.

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