Hogan Lovells U.S. Careers

Our work

Practice areas

• Appellate litigation
• Automotive
• Bankruptcy and restructuring
• Capital markets
• Commercial litigation
• Corporate
• Corporate governance
• Employee benefits and executive compensation
• Finance
• Financial services
• Healthcare
• Insurance and reinsurance
• Intellectual property
• Labor and employment
• Lending and creditors' rights
• Life sciences
• Media, entertainment and telecommunications
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Private equity and venture capital
• Real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs)
• Securities litigation
• Tax
• White collar and investigations

Significant clients

• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• British Sky Broadcasting
• Fox Entertainment Group
• General Electric
• HarperCollins
• KPMG
• Motorola
• MySpace.com
• News Corp
• New York Post
• Twentieth Century Fox
• UnitedHealth Group
• Wells Fargo

Read more about our work in New York

Summer program

Program size and duration

We typically have 12-14 summer associates in our program, which runs for 10 weeks.

Work assignments and training

Most summer associates will work on 2-3 assignments at any given time during the summer; some will be long-term projects, and others will be of shorter duration. The summer program provides extensive interaction with associates and partners and encourages the exploration of a broad range of practice areas and activities. Weekly lunch training sessions are held at which lawyers provide an overview of their practice areas, or teach practical skills, such as deposition and legal writing skills. Summer associates in the New York office can also participate in training programs that occur in other offices via videoconference.

Social events

Regularly scheduled social events are an important opportunity for summer associates to meet and get to know our lawyers (as well as other summer associates) outside the work environment. Some of our summer associate events include:

• Alvin Ailey dance performance
• Billiards and ping pong at Slate
• Bowling at Bowlmor Lanes
• Cheese and wine tasting
• Cooking event
• Dinners at partners’ homes
• Karaoke and dinner in Koreatown
• Rooftop farewell party
• Royal Shakespeare Company performance of As You Like It
• Scavenger hunt in various New York neighborhoods
• Yankees, Mets, and Staten Island Yankees games

Billable hours

The New York office's annual minimum productivity requirement is 2,000 hours. Credit is given for up to 100 pro bono hours (with an opportunity for additional credit approved in advance for exceptional involvement in large matters).

Discretionary bonuses have been made available based on contribution to the firm, quality of work, pro bono involvement, and other factors.

Pro bono commitment

All Hogan Lovells lawyers are encouraged to become involved in legal representation in the public interest. Our Pro Bono practice has handled hundreds of matters in recent years, including high-profile “impact cases” of national importance.

Examples of pro bono projects handled by lawyers in the New York office include:

• We represent a group of residents of Nassau County, Long Island in challenging the Village of Garden City's and Nassau County's rezoning and development decisions that prevent integrated housing opportunities for minorities by locating multi-family affordable housing exclusively in minority communities while restricting affordable housing development in non-diverse enclaves like Garden City.
• We have been involved with seeking humanitarian parole for a group of gender-based violence victims who are living in tent cities in Haiti. We have petitioned for assistance on the ground for women similarly situated.
• We act as co-counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice to assist with defending the constitutionality of Connecticut’s campaign finance reform laws, which were passed in response to political corruption scandals. Together with the Brennan Center we are representing Connecticut Common Cause, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and two individuals who would like to become candidates for office under the reformed finance structure.
• We successfully represented two Syrian human rights lawyers who were wrongfully detained in violation of international law by the Assad regime. We filed a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions and the two lawyers, Haitham Al-Maleh and Muhannad Al-Hassani, were freed from prison in Damascus in March and May of this year, respectively.
• We work in multi-office teams to represent two prisoners currently incarcerated on death row in Florida who seek post-conviction relief. Our clients are challenging their convictions and the imposition of the death penalty upon them.
• We represent Team RWB, a non-profit organization supporting wounded veterans and their families. Lawyers from our corporate team are currently advising Team RWB in connection with a proposed sponsorship agreement.
• We have advised Birch Family Services on a variety of matters related to real estate issues, IT, personnel and contract issues, and compliance. Birch is a not-for-profit engaged in the provision of educational, residential, and related services to children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.
• We have represented four inmates who were incarcerated at Rikers Island Prison. Rikers authorities created a new form of punitive solitary confinement called No Harm Housing to deter inmates from avoiding serving solitary confinement by feigning mental illness. Rikers authorities deprived inmates placed in No Harm Housing of their psychotropic medication and clothing and compelled them to dress in suicide smocks and diapers. Plaintiffs were also deprived of regular access to counsel. Hogan Lovells filed a complaint in New York State Court on behalf on these inmates and has obtained favorable settlements for several of the clients.
• Since 2004, New York office lawyers have mentored high school students in a legal studies program at a high school in the Bronx, New York. Our lawyers helped to prepare the students for a mock trial competition in the spring semester and a moot court competition in the fall semester. The competitions, sponsored by Fordham Law School, are designed as mentor programs to pair high schools with law firms who teach students trial advocacy and appellate skills. Our team helped the students prepare their case or oral argument by instructing them on direct and cross examinations, witness preparation, opening and closing statements, and oral advocacy skills.
• We have worked on numerous matters for clients of Friends of Karen, an organization that assists families with terminally ill children. One case involved securing payment of hospital bills from a patient's insurance company. Another case involved assisting a family faced with eviction from its apartment.

Hogan Lovells has a longstanding tradition of improving our community through pro bono work. All lawyers are expected to participate in pro bono activities. The New York office has an associate dedicated to lead the Pro Bono practice. This position is a year-long, rotating position for which all mid-level associates may apply. The associate selected for this position spends part of his/her time working on pro bono matters and coordinating the development of pro bono work for other lawyers in the office.

Community outreach

As part of our ongoing commitment to the community, New York lawyers and staff are active in many organizations, including:

Hogan Lovells sent a team of partners and clients from around the word to participate in London to Paris 2011, a 300 mile, 3 day race from London to Paris, for charity.  We raised money for two very worthwhile causes: Action Against Hunger and Leukemia and Lymphoma Research in partnership with The Geoff Thomas Foundation. Members of the team included: Tom Astle (Hogan Lovells, London), Andrew Briggs (Hogan Lovells, London), Johannes Buntjer (Hogan Lovells, Amsterdam), Steve Cohen (Anschutz, U.S.), Rod Freeman (Hogan Lovells, London), Warren Gorrell (Hogan Lovells, Washington, D.C.), Detlef Hass (Hogan Lovells, Munich), Dominic Hoar (Hogan Lovells, London), Stephen Immelt (Hogan Lovells, Baltimore), Rutger Oldenhuis (Shimano Europe, Netherlands), Scott Tindall (Hogan Lovells, London), Mimi Tjoeng (Shimano Europe, Netherlands), and Dennis Tracey (Hogan Lovells, New York).

The New York lawyers and staff contribute to our annual holiday toy drive, where we collect gifts and money to deliver to one of the firm’s pro bono clients. Past recipients have included Sanctuary for Families, Friends of Karen, Nazareth Housing, and Birch Family Services.

Attorneys and staff in the Corporate and Real Estate groups volunteer once a year at an area soup kitchen, including Bowery Mission, Masba Soup Kitchen, and the Yorkville Food Pantry.

Robin Keller, one of our business restructuring and insolvency partners, is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Birch Family Services, a not-for-profit engaged in the provision of educational, residential and related services to children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. Birch is one of the largest providers of such services in New York City, has groundbreaking achievements in the education of teachers of children with autism, and has recently opened the first residential school for teenagers with autism in New York City.

Maureen Hanlon, a corporate partner, serves as a big sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, whose mission is to provide mentors to all children who need caring adult role models. Maureen and her little sister talk once a week and get together once or twice a month.

Jessica Straley, one of our real estate associates, runs marathons and trains with Team in Training, which raises money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Steve Edwards, one of our litigation partners, is President of the Board of Nazareth Housing, an organization committed to the promotion of housing stability and economic independence among impoverished families and youth of New York City.

Peter Dennin, a litigation associate, is the Director of golf skills competition for the Connecticut State Special Olympics Games. Pete is also a unified athlete who partners with a Special Olympian to compete in the track and field games each summer.

Tracey Tiska, a litigation partner, is on the Board of Trustees of the Learning Spring School, a school for children on the autism spectrum in grades K-8 that is committed to advance the social, developmental and academic growth of its students through pioneering educational and therapeutic strategies in order to prepare each child to participate in the wider community.

Stanley Plesent, of counsel in our litigation group, has been on the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Board of Trustees since 1972, where he served as chairman for 16 years, and chairman emeritus ever since. Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation's mission is to further the pioneering work of Alvin Ailey by establishing an extended cultural community which provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people. This performing arts community plays a crucial social role using the beauty and humanity of the African American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages, and backgrounds. Stanley has also been on City Center’s Board of Directors since 1977. City Center’s mission is to make the finest in the performing arts accessible to the broadest possible audience, while insuring that its landmark facility remains an active and welcoming venue to both audiences and artists throughout the year.

Nancy Merriman, our recruitment manager, is a member of the City Bar Chorus, a committee of the New York City Bar Association whose mission is to reach out to the community through music by singing at community venues such as senior residences, nursing homes, AIDS residences, cancer treatment centers, and pediatric and rehabilitation facilities.