Russia is continuing to prove a challenging location for U.K. law firms struggling to occupy lawyers against the backdrop of an M&A market that has seen deal volumes nearly halve over the last year.

After Simmons & Simmons last month became the first major international firm to pull out of the market altogether following a partnership vote, partners at other firms have admitted that cracking Moscow is proving more difficult than many would have thought.

Simmons’ decision to close the office and lay off staff two years after entering the market was attributed by the firm to the drop in structured finance activity, which the office had initially been built around.

Despite the closure coming as a surprise to many in Moscow, Simmons’ position is indicative of the problems that many firms have faced, with Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, White & Case and Denton Wilde Sapte among those reducing headcount in the region over the last year.

via U.K. Firms Face Up to Challenge in Punishing Moscow Market .