As word circulated of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan’s financial challenges and search for a merger partner, Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar, charged with deepening the firm’s corporate bench in New York, saw an opportunity.

Fresh off his re-election to a second four-year term as CEO, Zaldivar offered a landing spot for more than 30 partners in the beleaguered firm’s real estate, corporate and litigation practices. For Hogan Lovells, the additions offer the prospect of raising the trans-Atlantic firm’s New York profile as dealmaker for big-ticket clients.