Hogan Lovells, an international law firm is closing its Ulaanbaatar office seven years after it first entered the Mongolian market via a local association in 2010.

The firm’s decision to exit Mongolia comes following a strategic review of the market. Hogan Lovells’ office managing partner in Ulaanbaatar Chris Melville will establish a new independent firm in the Mongolian capital with the existing team of 15 lawyers and staff. Hogan Lovells will form a co-operation relationship with the new firm in a bid to continue servicing its clients in the country.

Hogan Lovells gained an Ulaanbaatar presence when it entered a formal association with Mongolian outfit GTs Advocates in August 2010. It was also the first global firm to set up a permanent presence in Mongolia, and has operated there since 2011 advising on inbound corporate investment work and foreign investment in the infrastructure and natural resources sectors.

A very small number of other international firms continue to have a presence in the country, including DLA Piper, which entered the Mongolian market via a local tie-up with C&G Partners in 2011, and Dentons – thanks to its merger with Chinese firm Dacheng, which set up an office in the city in 2013.