Is this the biggest sign of the times yet? Huge global legal firm shuts its doors in Sydney and lays off lawyers

Leading international law firm Hogan Lovells is closing its sole office in Australia to focus on investing in other, more ‘strategic’ global markets.

Hogan Lovells has offices in major cities on every continent and reported a staggering global turnover of $2.68 billion last year.

However, the company announced last night that it will streamline its operations by phasing out its offices in Sydney, Johannesburg and Warsaw.

CEO Miguel Zaldivar called the decision “difficult” but necessary.

“Closing these three offices was a difficult decision, but one that was necessary so that we could continue our path of transformative growth and greater success – particularly in London, New York, California, Texas, Washington, DC, and key international markets,” the CEO said in a statement.

“This is part of our ambitious vision and strategic approach to continue growing as a financially integrated global company.”

The company did not give specific reasons for closing the Sydney office.

More than 65 attorneys and 58 support staff are affected by the three closures, a Hogan Lovells spokesperson told Bloomberg Law.

The Sydney office’s lawyers (above) are among the 123 staff affected by the closures

The website lists 19 lawyers in Sydney, 33 in Warsaw and nine in Johannesburg. There are more than 2,800 lawyers worldwide.

Mr Zaldivar said Hogan Lovells had achieved record revenues and partner profits in 2023 and he expected an even more successful end to 2024.

“We are confident in our strong global strategy and offerings across our core practice groups and sectors, and we will continue to serve our clients in the markets that are most critical to their success,” he said.

“We are extremely grateful to our colleagues in Johannesburg, Sydney and Warsaw for all their contributions to the company and we are committed to supporting them through this process.”