Having just announced plans to close its Berlin office, DLA Piper is pulling out of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, with rival global legal giant Dentons poised to take on all of the firm’s 11 lawyers in Tbilisi.

DLA Piper’s team in Tbilisi, led by litigation partner Otar Kipshidze, who heads the office, and corporate partner Avto Svanidze, will join Dentons on May 1, also known as May Day in many former Soviet states. The rest of the team in the Georgian capital comprises one of counsel, three associates, two legal directors and three paralegals.