A storied Wall Street law firm that hemorrhaged talent after bending the knee to President Donald Trump has announced plans to merge with a much larger firm in a bid to save its practice.
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft had been actively looking for a merger partner after many of its top attorneys left over the firm’s decision to pledge $100 million in pro bono work to support the president’s priorities, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Last spring, the president signed a series of executive orders stripping attorneys from certain firms of their security clearances, limiting their access to government buildings, and terminating government contracts with the firms.
While some firms like Cadwalader made deals with the administration to avoid a similar punishment, others fought the orders and won big in court, adding to the humiliation of the capitulating firms.
In the wake of the firm’s deal with Trump, key partner groups at Cadwalader, which was founded in 1792 and is Wall Street’s oldest firm, quickly began making lateral moves to other practices, Above the Law reported.
The firm, which brings in about $638 million in annual revenue, is now merging with Hogan Lovells, which brought in nearly $3 billion last year, more than quadruple the size of Cadwalader, according to Above the Law.
Hogan Lovells’ chief executive, Miguel Zaldivar Jr., will lead the combined firm, according to the Journal. Cadwalader’s current co-managing partners will be relegated to the new firm’s management committee.
Partners at both firms still need to vote to finalize the merger next year.
The deal is being described as the legal industry’s largest-ever merger, creating a $3.6 billion megafirm with more than 3,000 lawyers, according to the Journal.
Hogan Lovells is headquartered in London and Washington, D.C.
Commenting on the merger, Zaldivar said Wall Street had long been the firm’s “missing piece,” telling the Journal, “We felt that we needed to consolidate our position with a strong finance practice in New York.”
“It’s a deal that makes perfect sense,” he added.
Despite being burned by its prior dealings with Trump, Cadwalader co-managing partner Pat Quinn reaffirmed the company’s commitment to pro bono legal work in a statement shared by Reuters.
However, he declined to say whether the firm’s previous deal with the administration would apply to the merged firm.
Last year, another famous Wall Street firm, Shearman & Sterling, merged with Allen & Overy to create a $3.4 billion business. Chicago-based firm Winston & Strawn also announced plans on Monday to merge with U.K. practice Taylor Wessing in 2026.
“The most attractive legal market today, and the most lucrative market, is that New York-London corridor,” Valdivar explained to Reuters.
The Daily Beast has contacted Cadwalader for further comment.
