Latest Law Firm Office Closures Are Just the Beginning

There’s a familiar saying: “There’s always enough news to fill the newspaper.” It’s often said with a touch of skepticism, hinting that the media manipulates events to fit an agenda. The reality is quite different—yes, there’s always news, but some days are more eventful than others. The media doesn't control the news itself but determines what is deemed newsworthy and, in turn, what makes the cut.
The same logic applies to law firm leaders when evaluating their global office networks. While they can't control how markets perform, they can choose where to direct their attention and resources.

I'm Paul Hodkinson, Editor-In-Chief at Law.com International, bringing you this week's edition of The Global Lawyer.

Recently the news has been especially packed with developments that have dramatically raised the bar on what counts as important.

If you blinked, here's a quick recap of an eventful week:

Hogan Lovells announced it was shuttering offices in Johannesburg, Sydney, and Warsaw. A&O Shearman made waves by cutting equity partners, closing its Johannesburg office, and dismantling a consulting division—a move that sparked understandable anger from those affected. Yet, these post-merger cuts did not act as a cautionary tale to others. The news was closely followed by Womble Bond Dickinson’s announcement of a merger with Am Law 200 firm Lewis Roca, Troutman Pepper’s tie-up with Locke Lord, plus another U.S. merger.

Tech behemoths Apple and Google lost major court battles in Europe, setting them up for multi-billion-dollar payouts. Law.com International also rolled out its rankings of the U.K. Top 50 firms by revenue, by profit per equity and by revenue per lawyer.

Meanwhile, another U.S. firm closed a China office, another opened in Ireland, a U.K. firm expanded in the U.S., and another nation relaxed restrictions for U.K. lawyers.

And then, the lateral moves. Holy mackerel! The hiring frenzy, especially in London and across Europe, seems to be on overdrive. Many of our articles these days combine several together.

The rationale behind these hires and new offices is clear. Giants like Apple and Google need ever more sophisticated legal expertise in the U.K. and Europe, where regulatory battles loom large.

But something else is happening behind the scenes, which also explains some of the closures in less fashionable jurisdictions...

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