Nixon Peabody is set to close its Paris office, with the firm aiming to shift its focus to the US.

The firm's Paris office currently has 11 partners, two of whom split their time with other offices, seven associates and a paralegal, according to Nixon Peabody's website. The team is headed up by office managing partner Douglas Glucroft. It is unclear where any of the Paris lawyers will go next.

A spokesperson for the firm said: "Nixon Peabody is constantly focused on managing our business in the US and internationally to best serve the needs of our clients. With that as our priority, we are closing our Paris office, and will continue to serve our clients in France and Europe through our association with our Paris colleagues, the Terralex network, and other referral relationships."

In addition to Paris the firm's international operations include London, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The Paris base launched in 2008 with 12 senior lawyers from Taylor Wessing who quit to start the base alongside Paris ex-managing partner Arnaud de Senilhes, who had left the UK firm earlier that year.

De Senilhes left Nixon Peabody in September to take up a position with Jeantet Associes, while finance specialist Jean-Norbert Pontier left in July for SNR Denton.

In 2008 Taylor Wessing's French arm filed a lawsuit against Nixon Peabody, accusing the US firm of colluding with de Senilhes to "raid" its partner ranks after merger talks between the two firms collapsed in 2007.

Taylor Wessing's legal team at Dreier, including name partner Marc Dreier, said Nixon's alleged attempts to poach 12 of Taylor's 15 non-equity French partners violated a 2007 agreement in which the firms promised not to recruit from each other for two years if merger talks fell through.

However the firm lost the battle after a trial judge ruled the US firm did not violate any laws, despite agreeing to a two-year moratorium on recruiting from Taylor Wessing in the wake of the failed talks.