Orrick is set to shutter its office in Switzerland by the end of the year, following a review.
The tech-focused firm said the decision arose from a “routine review in connection with the conclusion of the office lease”, adding the closure “enables us to continue to emphasise strategic investment in other markets in Europe and worldwide”.
The Geneva office includes four partners and a counsel, all of whom are part of the firm’s international arbitration and dispute resolution practice, apart from structured finance partner Hervé Touraine
In a statement, Orrick said: “We are grateful to our partners and team for their contributions to our clients and our firm and wish them well. We will provide our impacted team, which includes one counsel and four staff, with transition support.”
Orrick has recruited 15 partners to its UK and European platform so far this year, eight of them in London and the rest in France and Italy, and according to a source familiar with the matter, expects to announce more before year-end.
Among the London hires are a quartet of CLO partners who joined from Cadwalader earlier this month and Gibson Dunn oil and gas co-chair Anna Howell.
The firm also shuttered its offices in Taipei and Shanghai last year, in a move it characterised as a “rebalancing” of its Asia-Pacific platform, which now has offices in Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore. This year, it has been busily expanding its US footprint, opening in Miami and Charlotte, the second-largest financial centre in the US after New York.
A source familiar with the matter said under the plans for the Geneva arm, Touraine will transfer to Orrick’s Paris office and international arbitration partner James Hargrove will relocate to London, where he is also currently based, according to Orrick’s website.
Orrick opened in Geneva in 2015, its most recent launch in continental Europe following a sustained expansion drive across the region that began in 2002 with its opening in Paris. The closure will leave it with six offices across continental Europe.
Other firms trimming their European networks recently include Hogan Lovells, which closed its Warsaw office in 2024, and Dechert, which shuttered its base in Frankfurt last year as part of a wider strategy to consolidate its global footprint that also saw it close offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago.
Going the other way, Squire Patton Boggs opened in Geneva last year, while Ropes & Gray has opened offices in Paris and Milan this year, focused on private equity work. HSF Kramer and Simpson Thacher also launched in Luxembourg recently, drawn by its status as an attractive financial centre and a hub for fund and broader corporate groups operating across Europe.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
