A trio of partners from US firm Pepper Hamilton has joined the Philadelphia office of global firm Hogan Lovells, bringing the total number of partners in the Philadelphia office to seven.
Steve Abrams, Rachael Bushey, and John Duke join the firm’s corporate practice, all have a background in life sciences. Duke’s expertise spans across a range of sectors including food and beverage, FinTech, and consumer products, among others.
The trio highlighted Hogan Lovells network as a key pull factor in the move: “Many of our clients who were developing pharmaceutical drugs are looking to develop or market those products not just in the US, but in many areas outside the US, such as in Europe and Asia,” Abrams explained.
At Pepper Hamilton, Abrams co-chaired the life sciences and corporate and securities practice. Asked about the trends in the capital markets he said: “The capital markets in the United States were rising in 2013, 2014 and 2015. There has been a rough patch since the last quarter of 2015,” he said. “We see some signs of them coming back, but there are a large number of companies who need to raise capital. Since the capital markets have been down, we have seen a rise in transaction activity such as collaborations, licensing and M&A.”