Hogan Lovells increased its debt facilities and arranged measures with several office landlords to weather the COVID-19 storm, new CEO Miguel Zaldivar has said.

In tackling the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Zaldivar said the firm had to negotiate with landlords across some of its global offices on rent payments, as well as increase its credit facility "so that we had enough cash to meet obligations". The firm has not had to use the extra credit to date.

In an interview with Law.com International, Zaldivar, who took over from former CEO Stephen Immelt on July 1, said that the firm was coping fairly well with the impact of the global crisis, stating that firm's billings are up compared to last year, but that "the demand for our industry and law firms is declining right now".

Since April, the firm has announced a range of measures aimed to curb the effects of the pandemic on jobs and finances, including deferring partner bonuses and profit distributions and cutting compensation for all U.S. attorneys earning over $100,000 annually.

Any new office openings are currently off the table, he said, but the aim is to invest in several U.S. bases in particular: Texas, California, Florida and Washington D.C. as well as London (in particular for M&A and private equity), Germany and China.

Despite the challenges triggered by the pandemic, Zaldivar has pushed ahead with his strategy for the firm, with diversity and inclusion "at the heart" of his vision. He believes that being one of few Latino senior law firm leaders gives him a unique take on the issue.

"I've got a unique life experience as a diverse lawyer," he stated, arguing that the way to impact real change in diversity is to retaining talent by giving people "the right opportunities."

As part of this diversity push, Zaldivar is aiming to set a target for a minimum percentage of new hires to fall under a diverse category.

Sustainability is also high on his agenda. He says he met with the firm's chief operating officer shortly before he was appointed CEO to discuss how to use technology in a better way, as well as looking at how the firm's people travel and managing that in a different way.

"As a CEO, I have a social obligation to do better for the wider society," he argued.

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