Determination and recognition of failings bodes well for Hogan Lovells M&A push

Given the timing and structure of the merger, it was inevitable that the creation of Hogan Lovells would lead to jokey comparisons to the UK's new coalition government. But perhaps a political allusion that better illustrates the challenge this tie-up faces is the plain fact that Lovells' transactional practice has for years been viewed in the City much like Churchill's famous putdown of Atlee: as a modest team with much to be modest about.

Whether that perception was entirely fair (in truth, it was probably a little overdone), unlocking the merger's potential will require demonstrably overcoming this assumed poverty of ambition. In short, Hogan Lovells has to start looking more like a home for the City's most talented deal-doers, and a natural place to turn for major plcs with important work to get done.

As such, the mainstream corporate practice, long the scourge of Lovells' ambitions, is target number one – and so it should be. What Lovells had pre-merger was a solid but not spectacular roster of clients; SAB Miller, Barclays and ITV to name a few. The last two years have thrown up some interesting mandates: advising Goldman Sachs on BHP Billiton's bid for Rio Tinto, and advising the banks on EDF's £11bn tie-up with British Energy.

The legacy Hogan & Hartson side counts Ford, Delta Airlines and Black & Decker among its clients. Its small London team also has an energy-centric client list more impressive than some rivals have conceded, with Russian giants Onexim and Rusal often calling on the firm for advice. The US practice offering is highly regarded in Washington DC, but in the deal centre of New York the firm has just 15 transactional partners.

For some critics, the lack of a top-tier corporate franchise in Europe or the US is a sign that the deal isn't about M&A – but that doesn't hold much weight if the rhetoric coming from the co-heads Stuart Stein and Andrew Skipper is anything to go by. Very un-Lovells-like vernacular is bandied around, like 'game changing' and 'redefining the top', displaying a determination to make a corporate team that is not only bigger but also better. As Skipper comments: "We see this as an opportunity to invest and continue to build from a strong starting position. The proposition is compelling, and we intend to use every bit of it to our advantage."

Part of achieving that will be making a series of corporate hires in major jurisdictions to send out the message this is a firm with real ambition for its M&A practice. Consensus from headhunters is that the union has given Hogan Lovells a genuine window to bring in talented partners who realistically would not have considered either legacy practice in isolation.

If securing good laterals is about moving quickly and decisively to benefit from the post-merger honeymoon, the long-term but unavoidable slog will come when targeting and then courting the kind of global clients the firm will need in order to prove it is more than a DLA Piper mark two. This will surely test the firm's proclaimed determination to the limit, but it must persevere. The stark alternative is that a new political quotation will be dug out for Hogan Lovells – the one about all careers ending in failure.

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