Is this the biggest sign of the times yet? Huge global legal firm shuts its doors in Sydney and lays off lawyers
Leading global law firm Hogan Lovells will close its only office in Australia to focus on investments in other more strategic world markets.
Leading global law firm Hogan Lovells will close its only office in Australia to focus on investments in other more strategic world markets.
Hogan Lovells has offices in major cities on every world continent and reported an eye-watering $2.68billion in global revenue last year.
However, the company announced overnight they will streamline their operations by winding down operations in Sydney, Johannesburg, and Warsaw.
CEO Miguel Zaldivar said the decision was difficult but necessary.
Closing these three offices was a difficult decision, but one that was needed so that we can continue our path to achieve transformational growth and drive greater success – particularly in London, New York, California, Texas, Washington, D.C., and key international markets, the chief executive said in a statement.
This is part of our ambitious vision and strategic approach to continue to grow as a financially integrated global firm.
The firm didnt identify any individual reasons for the closure of the Sydney office.
Over 65 lawyers and 58 support staff will be affected by the three closures, a Hogan Lovells spokesperson told Bloomberg Law.
CEO Miguel Zaldivar said closing Sydneys office would allow a focus on stronger markets
The firms lawyers in the Sydney office (above) are among the 123 staff affected by the closures
Its website lists 19 lawyers in Sydney, 33 in Warsaw and nine in Johannesburg with more than 2,800 worldwide.
Mr Zaldivar said Hogan Lovells had achieved record revenues and partner profits in 2023 and that he foresaw an even more successful end to 2024.
We are confident in our strong global strategy and offering across our key practice groups and sectors, and will continue to serve our clients in the markets that are most critical to their success, he said.
We are deeply grateful to our colleagues in Johannesburg, Sydney and Warsaw for all their contributions to the firm and we are committed to supporting them through this process.
