Hogan Lovells has announced a second term for its current chair, bucking a trend of leadership changes among top firms.
The firm reappointed intellectual property litigator Marie-Aimée de Dampierre for a second three-year term as firmwide chair to begin in May 2024. The Paris-based partner’s reappointment followed that of CEO Miguel Zaldivar, whose second term begins in July 2024.
The continuity contrasts with the news of more than two dozen large law firms that announced leadership changes in the past year. Industry analysts and consultants told The American Lawyer that the shift to remote work and increased industry competition were among the drivers of burnout in leadership roles.
Since de Dampierre was appointed board chair in May 2021, Hogan Lovells posted record revenue and profits in 2021, with gross revenue up 13% and profits per equity partner up 26%, thanks to the firm doing “well in the U.S. and extremely well in Europe,” Zaldivar told The American Lawyer in February 2022.
Revenue and profits dropped slightly in 2022 due to the mergers and acquisitions slowdown and currency disruptions, Zaldivar said. The firm closed its Moscow office after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and considered a merger with Shearman & Sterling, but broke off talks in March.
