Hogan Lovells will close its Rio de Janeiro base at the end of August, as the firm moves to consolidate its Brazil presence in Sao Paulo six years after launching in the country.

Rio and Sao Paulo managing partner Claudette Christian, who relocated from Washington DC to lead the Rio outpost when it opened in 2012, will now return to the US capital.

Counsel Eduardo Carvajal, who previously practised in Washington DC before making a move to the Rio base in 2015, is transferring to the firm's Los Angeles office, while four other Rio lawyers will relocate to the firm's other Brazil base in Sao Paulo.

Hogan Lovells global CEO Steve Immelt said: "The decision to consolidate our offices in Brazil into Sao Paulo is based on our desire to capitalise on the opportunities in Brazil for the foreseeable future. Sao Paulo has developed as the stronger centre for commercial and financial activity and it therefore makes sense to concentrate our services there."

The news comes after the global firm also closed its office in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas this May amid political and economic upheaval in the region.

Other international law firms to have launched in Brazil in recent years include Paul Hastings, which opened a Sao Paulo office in 2016, while Kennedys also opened a base in Brazil the same year.

HFW, which originally launched in Brazil in late 2011, bolstered its presence in the country this June through an association with newly established firm CAL, while last year Dentons sealed an alliance with Brazilian firm Vella Pugliese Buosi Guidoni.