Hogan Lovells has agreed to hire more than 30 partners from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, including firm co-managing partner Jeff Keitelman and the firm’s prized real estate team, after the latter’s attempts to combine with another firm have repeatedly fallen through. 

The partner moves from Stroock amount to more than half of its partnership, creating an even more bleak future for the New York law firm that was founded nearly 150 years ago. It follows several unsuccessful attempts by Stroock to secure a merger with another firm, which have included negotiations with Nixon Peabody and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.