The exodus of nearly 30 lawyers from K&L Gates in Australia this month was only the latest in a string of high-profile exits for the firm.

In the 12 months leading up to that group's departure, Pittsburgh-headquartered K&L Gates experienced a net loss of 56 lawyers, according to lateral move data from ALM Intelligence's Legal Compass. The firm had a total of 1,756 lawyers in 2018.

A closer look shows the firm lost 96 partners from December 2018 through October, according to ALM Intelligence data, while it has added 32 partners across all of its offices since November 2018. The attrition extends a longer-term trend of shrinking lawyer head counts for the firm, which has also struggled to keep pace financially with many peer firms in the Am Law 100.