Last month, at The American Lawyer Industry Awards in New York, The American Lawyer honored the litigation departments of six law firms for their work in jurisdictions across the country: Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The growth of Hogan Lovells, the Pennsylvania winner, into new practice areas in the Philadelphia area is paying off as it brings in big wins for clients in a variety of matters, including the firm's work on behalf of the city in the high-profile sanctuary city case that ultimately allowed Philadelphia to go against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's policy on undocumented immigrants.

The following Q&A contains responses from the firm's litigation department:

How would you describe the philosophy of your litigation department in terms of the types of matters you look to handle, the types of clients you look to represent and the way in which you approach cases?

We are a powerhouse litigation practice that is fiercely effective in both the courtroom and boardroom at protecting our clients' interests. We do this by charting winning litigation strategies with specialized knowledge of the regulatory landscape and industry sectors in which our clients must operate. Our team regularly handles complex cases that pose existential threats to our clients' business plans, and we go the distance, trying cases to verdict if that's in our client's best interest; resolving them on highly advantageous terms when appropriate. We do this with a comprehensive understanding of our clients' business and what keeps them up at night. That is because our team is comprised of litigators who have significant industry sector expertise and have spent decades in the trenches with clients and with our regulatory lawyers who help us get the best outcomes today and into the future.

What cases this submission period best represent that philosophy and what did the firm's litigators do to get the client a successful result in those matters?

We started 2019 trying a Montgomery County jury a case for a global medical device manufacturer, Globus Medical, with claims of over $80 million for which we were engaged only a few months before trial. After two weeks of presenting our case and a day of cross-examining the opponent's chief executive officer, we won a settlement for a small fraction of that claim. The case involved complex products, interpretation of multiple contracts and testimony from the company's chairman and CEO. It was a significantly positive outcome that ended nine years of litigation and brought the client peace. That is what we do. By the second quarter of the year, we won on appeal to the Third Circuit for the City of Philadelphia the landmark decision that the Department of Justice unlawfully imposed new immigration-related conditions on federal law enforcement grants and that the City complied with federal law. This, too, validated Philadelphia's Welcoming City policies, known as "sanctuary." It helped set precedent for cities around the country who were in pitched battles for their federal funding while protecting their ability to make local decisions on what makes their communities safe.

How has the legal landscape in Pennsylvania evolved and how has the firm looked to adapt?

Our Pennsylvania courts continue to be among the best in the land for innovation in litigation and for handling complex matters. We see the trend toward technological disputes growing. Hogan Lovells is a leader in representing tech businesses and most businesses that today have tech issues coming to dominate key aspects of their manufacturing and distribution for litigation and arbitrated disputes—whether in life sciences, social media, electronic records, data, or other technologies. Our courts achieve informed and fair results for these clients.

What are you doing to attract, train and retain new talent in the litigation department?

We are a destination department within a destination firm. The Hogan Lovells Philadelphia litigation team is a tight-knit group that works as a unit on the most complex matters. Being a relatively small department that is fully integrated into a global firm, we are able to offer talented young lawyers significant responsibility and exposure to high stakes strategy decisions and thorny legal issues early on. We offer a boutique feel while operating within one of the world's most prestigious law firms, and the secret is out. This has allowed us to be selective in bringing in the best talent through a combination of targeted lateral hiring, a small summer associate program and internal transfers of lawyers from other Hogan Lovells offices who want to be part of our team. Currently, we are keenly focused on maintaining the diversity of our litigation team and getting more diverse going forward. Our Philadelphia litigation team consists of women and diverse lawyers. One of our associates was recognized by the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 and separately as one of Pennsylvania's Lawyers on the Fast Track by The Legal Intelligencer. This year we are increasing our participation in the Leadership Council on Diversity.

How does pro bono work factor into the litigation department's mission?

Our team's dedication to pro bono work runs deep and has been a key factor in our Philadelphia litigation group's success. Hogan Lovells has long been a leader in pro bono work nationwide, and our litigation team has enthusiastically extended that mission into Philadelphia. Perhaps our biggest win during the submission period was our high profile fight on behalf of the City of Philadelphia to prevent the loss of federal funding over its "Sanctuary City" status. We also made key pro bono contributions representing a consortium of major U.S. cities as amici in the recent safehouse litigation, advocating for the ability to establish overdose prevention sites, and working on behalf of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network to assist the Montgomery County District Attorney's office in the trial of actor/comedian Bill Cosby. Our Philadelphia team also lends its talents to the firm's pro bono efforts around the world, while remaining committed to helping the most vulnerable in our own community through our partnerships with the Philadelphia Homeless Advocacy Project, Philadelphia VIP and the Public Interest Law Center. In addition to keeping lawyers engaged through a variety of pro bono legal projects, our entire office is fully engaged in Hogan Lovells' Global Citizenship program, through which every firm employee is asked to spend at least 25 hours per year in community service as part of normal work duties.