Miami partner Richard Lorenzo was promoted as part of an international leadership shakeup by Hogan Lovells, which is combining some of its major practices groups and regions, the firm announced.

Lorenzo has been named Hogan Lovells' regional managing partner for the Americas, a new region covering North and South America. The hemisphere previously was divided into the Americas and D.C. regions. The combination is part of a move shrinking the firm's global regions from five to three.

He has focused on international commercial litigation and arbitration for more than two decades. Lorenzo joined the firm's 12-member board in mid-2018 representing U.S. offices outside the District of Columbia.

He is a former chairman of the Hispanic National Bar Foundation, a nonprofit focused on increasing diversity in the legal profession, and is on the board of the Miami International Arbitration Society.

All changes are effective July 1 when CEO Steve Immelt and deputy CEO David Hudd step down and Miguel Zaldivar and Michael Davison take over their respective roles for four-year terms. Their promotions were announced in December.

Zaldivar was the firm's Asia-Pacific and Middle East chief executive. He joined legacy Hogan & Hartson's Miami office as a partner in 2002 and relocated to Hong Kong as regional chief executive of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East in 2018.

The new regions outside the Americas will cover Europe, the Middle East and African and separately China, Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia.

As part of the reorganization, three partners are stepping down from the firm's international management committee as Europe managing partner, Paris-based Marie-Aimee de Dampierre, becomes managing partner for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

U.K. and Africa managing partner Susan Bright will become global managing partner for diversity, inclusion and responsible business. She will remain U.K. managing partner until the end of the year and will be replaced by London-based global banking head Penny Angel.

The firm's regional partner of the Americas, Cole Finegan, and Washington regional managing partner Eve Howard also are stepping down from the global committee. Finegan will continue as Denver office managing partner, and Howard will serve as global head of the combined capital markets practice.

In reducing its practice groups from five to three, the firm is combining two areas into the corporate and finance group. It also is combining several other groups to form the global regulatory and intellectual property, media and technology group and the litigation, arbitration and employment group.