Akin Gump Picks Up Hogan's Geneva Office

Jeff Jeffrey

The National Law Journal

2010-04-08 00:00:00.0

Hogan & Hartson's seven-lawyer Geneva office will join Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld after Hogan's merger with U.K.-based Lovells goes live May 1.

The lawyers joining Akin are partners Charles Adams Jr., Jonathan Ivinson and Michael Stepek, and associates Matthew Bate, Oliver Ciric, Vanessa Liborio and Matthew Parish. Adams will continue to serve as managing partner of the office.

Adams' practice focuses on international disputes involving major infrastructure construction projects, joint ventures, insurance coverage, manufacturing, telecommunications and transportation.

Ivinson gears his practice toward international and domestic tax issues, with an emphasis on tax-efficient cross-border financing structures

Stepek advises clients on international arbitration, international public and private law, and trade matters,

In a statement Adams said, "We are excited to be part of Akin Gump's international expansion efforts. We look forward to bringing our capabilities and standards to bear in international arbitration, international tax planning, and Swiss corporate and commercial law to benefit the firm's world-class client base."

The loss of the Geneva office means that Hogan Lovells will not have a presence in the city. Lovells doesn't have a Geneva office.

The move also marks the latest group to leave in Europe from the Hogan side of the coming merger. To date, Hogan has shed a total of 85 lawyers from its offices in Berlin, Warsaw, and now Geneva.

The total number of lawyers who have left or will be leaving ahead of the merger is now at least 109, including 38 partners.

In an interview, Akin chairman R. Bruce McLean said acquiring the team from Hogan wasn't so much about getting a foothold in Geneva as it was about adding to its international arbitration practice.

"This wasn't about the geography of where the office was based, though Geneva is a good place to have lawyers who handle private equity issues as well as international arbitration. There were advantages to the geography and no disadvantages, so it seemed like a perfect fit," McLean said.

McLean said he did not know whether client conflicts prompted the Geneva team to look for opportunities outside of Hogan Lovells. "We were more focused on how well they would fit at Akin Gump," McLean said. "For us, this is a big deal. We're very excited about it."

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.