Partnership of combined firm formally commits to support for communities it serves
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader – the combination of Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, which launched on July 1 – shared that it had become the first global law firm to incorporate a formal commitment to pro bono and broader citizenship into its constitution.
Under the new partnership deed, the combined firm’s partnership formally committed to pro bono work and support for the communities it serves.
“I welcome that Hogan Lovells Cadwalader are embedding a commitment to pro bono service in their new constitution,” said Lord Peter Goldsmith KC PC, past UK attorney general and LawWorks chair, in a press release. “This sets an excellent example for all lawyers operating in the UK.”
“Pro bono has always been part of our DNA, and as part of our combination, we had a unique opportunity to think differently about how we carry that commitment forward in the firm we are building together,” added Miguel Zaldivar, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader’s chief executive officer.
The constitutional commitment is part of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader’s governing framework, along with the provisions covering the partnership’s ownership, leadership, and operations.
“Our 5-2-1 strategy sets out Our Society as one of our five strategic priorities, and pro bono is an important pillar of that commitment,” Zaldivar said. “By embedding pro bono in our constitution, we are making clear that creating positive impact is a fundamental part of who we are and how we define our success.”
“The challenge now is to make the historic commitment our legal profession has to pro bono rock solid by cementing it into law firms’ foundational documents,” Goldsmith added.
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader’s pro bono efforts
In its press release, the combined firm explained that the pro bono commitment is founded on nearly three decades of efforts to invest in pro bono leadership.
“Writing that commitment into our constitution gives us the foundation to pursue impact at even greater scale across every office, backed by a commitment from the partnership of the combined firm,” said Yasmin Waljee OBE, international pro bono partner at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
According to the combined firm, Waljee’s appointment in 1997 was the first of its sort across Europe, as well as one of the first of its kind in the UK.
In 2025, the firm’s global workforce contributed more than 256,000 “Responsible Business” hours, over 174,000 of which were pro bono hours.
Beginning in 2015, the global citizenship policy has urged all of Hogan Lovells’ lawyers and business services professionals to devote a minimum of 25 hours annually to pro bono and citizenship activities, with that expectation now encompassing the combined firm.
“Our pro bono practice has always targeted impact: lives changed, rights secured and laws reformed,” Waljee said in Hogan Lovells Cadwalader’s press release. “Hours are the means; impact is the measure.”
More Hogan Lovells news
Last April, Hogan Lovells highlighted the approval of its combination with Cadwalader and characterized it as the largest law firm merger in history.
In March 2025, Reuters reported that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had warned 20 large law firms, including Hogan Lovells, about the possible illegality of their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment policies.
Enjoy this story? Read the latest international law news on the main page!
