Weil Gotshal & Manges' Poland office is facing an uncertain future as rivals and partners at the firm say informal talks are being held about a potential split.

The US firm, which is closing its Prague office at the start of 2019, currently has 11 partners in the Warsaw base, which after the Prague exit will be its only remaining office in central and eastern Europe (CEE).

One partner at the firm said that while nothing had been decided, he was aware of talks taking place about the future of the operation. Another partner at a rival firm operating in the region claimed that the office was in the process of being closed down, while two other rival partners added they had heard of discussions going on, with one describing the firm's possible exit as "the talk of the town".

The firm did not respond to requests for comment.

The Prague office closure, which was announced last month, will see four partners split off to set up an independent law firm. Weil has said it will maintain a good relationship with the Czech team after they leave to become independent.

Local lawyers point to the similarities between the Czech and Polish offices. Rivals say that, like in Prague, the Warsaw base is well established within its region and relatively independent from the rest of Weil.

If the Warsaw team were to split off, it would effectively mark Weil's fourth office closure in the past two years, after the firm also shut its Budapest office in January and its Dubai office in 2017.

Various firms have been reassessing their CEE presence in recent years. The region, which is often impacted by turbulence in neighbouring countries such as Russia and Ukraine, has proven tricky for international firms, and in 2014 Norton Rose Fulbright closed its Prague office, followed a month later by the announcement that Hogan Lovells would be doing the same.