CMS Cameron McKenna is drastically scaling down its Washington DC office in a bid to streamline its international practice.
Two partners, Greg Williams and Joel Zipp, will be leaving the firm, while 16 of the office’s 23 staff will also be affected.
US partner Bridget Shahan will remain as the only partner in the office, which will effectively be run from London by projects partner Fiona Woolf.
The office, which was opened five years ago, has traditionally been narrowly focused on the electricity market.
The restructure is the latest move by Camerons to rein in international investment; in January it downsized its Hong Kong operation by 40 lawyers. The office now has only one resident partner.
Camerons managing partner Dick Tyler told The Lawyer: “We’re not working our way across the globe saying, ‘who’s next?’ We’re not just focusing on the bottom line outside the UK, but on whether there’s clear strategic validation for different practices.
“It’s not viable to continue with a practice of Washington’s current size and shape.”
In the last financial year CMS Cameron McKenna turned over £174m, a slight drop on last year’s figure of £175.5m. Net profit was £50.6m, with average profits per equity partner falling from £438,000 to £401,000.