The NSW police were called to Baker McKenzie’s Sydney office after an associate committed suicide.
The incident has left the firm’s local team devastated. The Australian division of the global firm learned of the associate’s death last month.
The death did not happen in the office.
This week, several former and current lawyers from the firm attended the funeral service for one of their colleagues in Sydney.
Ann-Marie Allgrove, the managing partner of Baker McKenzie Australia, said in a statement that the firm had been providing its staff with support.
The entire firm is deeply saddened by the loss of one of its colleagues.
Baker McKenzie has offered its support to the family and friends of the deceased individual.
The firm’s employees in Sydney were also provided with onsite assistance. The police were also present at the company’s headquarters to carry out a routine check.
The police did not conduct an investigation into the matter. This is a difficult time for Baker McKenzie, as it has been experiencing a string of partner resignations in the past 12 months. The firm is also in talks with its global counterparts about taking over the Australian operations.
As previously reported by this masthead, some of the local partners indicated that the financial performance of the firm had dropped off.
The global law firm Baker McKenzie has thousands of attorneys in the US, and its headquarters is in Chicago.
Its Australian office, which has been operating for over 50 years, has around 300 lawyers working in three locations: Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.