Hogan Lovells has unveiled a record set of financial results for FY23, when the transatlantic firm grew net revenue by 10.3% to $2.68bn against a 20.3% rise in profits per equity partner (PEP) to $2.74m. 

Revenue per lawyer was also up from $977k to $1.05m, an increase of 7.2%.  

The results mark a return to growth after a subdued FY22, when turnover and PEP dipped by around 7% and 8% respectively amid challenges including a decline in transactional work as deal markets cooled, persistently high inflation and political instability.  

That followed a record 2021 for the firm, which pointed out that the previous three financial years had been its best overall in terms of financial performance.  

“We have reported another year of record revenue and profitability growth,” said firm CEO, Miguel Zaldivar. “We can attribute these results to factors including our focus on providing exceptional legal services to clients, often in their most complex and challenging matters, across multiple jurisdictions.” 

In terms of regions, like last year the Americas contributed 48% of total billings, while EMEA’s share stood at 47% and Asia-Pacific generated the remaining 5%. Having declined by 13% in FY22, UK revenue grew 14.6% this time round to $532m – roughly one fifth of the total. 

The breakdown by practice area was also much in line with FY22, with corporate and finance representing 41% of global revenue, global regulatory and intellectual property, media and technology (IPMT) 31%, and disputes 28%. 

Standout work for the firm’s corporate and finance team, which saw record growth in M&A, included representing Life Storage in its $12.7bn merger with Extra Space Storage, and Mercedes Benz Group in a joint venture to develop a network of electric vehicle chargers in the US and Canada.  

On the disputes side the firm worked with clients including Coinbase, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Blue Cross. It also represented Kazakh mining company Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) in a case establishing bad faith on the part of the UK Serious Fraud Office, which subsequently closed the decade long criminal investigation into ENRC without bringing any charges.  

In January, the firm made up 28 lawyers to partner in its latest promotions round. The proportion of women fell from 60% in 2023’s round to 43%, a ratio that nevertheless saw the firm move closer to its target to have 30% of its global partnership be women by 2025. The firm has already exceeded the target in the UK and US, where women make up 33.3% and 30.8% of the partnership respectively.   

In terms of diversity, the firm noted that 35% of the new UK and US partners identified as racially or ethnically diverse, again a proportion that saw it move closer to its goal to have 15% representation among its UK and US partners by 2025. The firm said the proportion currently stands at 13%. 

Over the course of the year the firm’s responsible business efforts also saw it achieve Mansfield Certification Plus in the US and UK, announce a three-year partnership with global charity WaterAid and launch a solicitor apprenticeship scheme in collaboration with the City of London Law Society intended to widen access to the profession.  

The 2,800-lawyer firm added more than 50 partners globally in 2023 through lateral hires, including more than 30 across the US from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan ahead of the latter dissolving last December. It also hired former Washington DC attorney general Karl Racine to chair its state attorney general practice and bolstered its energy team in Washington, London, Singapore and Berlin.