Earlier this year, Amazon.com Inc. announced the 20 finalists to host the retail giant’s second headquarters—North American cities with, as the criteria specified, a metropolitan population of at least one million and the ability to attract the strong technical talent needed to support the business. But what the establishment of Amazon’s HQ2 means for the e-commerce company’s legal department is still as speculative as where that location will be.

Amazon general counsel David Zapolsky declined to discuss the issue. But Corporate Counsel spoke with recruiters and consultants who specialize in corporate law departments, and a general counsel whose company recently set up a large office in a second city, to glean some insights into what may happen with Amazon’s Seattle-based 800-person global law department when HQ2 opens. (Amazon has said that it plans to announce the final site by the end of the year.)