Downtown L.A. law firm Nossaman LLP is moving offices next month – but it’s not venturing far.

After 43 years in the Union Bank building on Figueroa Street, the firm is moving four blocks south. The new headquarters will be in MPG Office Trust’s 777 Tower at Figueroa and Eighth streets.

The 45-attorney office is moving to prepare for future expansion and to be closer to “today’s center of the downtown business area,” said Kenneth Kramer, the firm’s assistant managing partner.

“There’s been a little bit of a shift. More recent development has been toward Staples Center and Seventh and Eighth streets, and that’s the direction we’re moving in,” said Kramer, who also pointed to an upcoming $40 million renovation of the nearby 7th & Fig retail center as a factor that appealed to employees.

Nossaman, which counts seven offices nationwide, has added six attorneys to its L.A. headquarters in the last 14 months. To make way for additional expansion, the new space is slightly larger than the current one – 44,000 square feet on two floors, an increase of about 3,000 square feet. The firm also has retained rights to expand onto other floors.

In recent years, several law firms have been consolidating, moving and expanding in downtown. Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP has announced plans to move soon from Westchester into a space at 555 S. Flower St.

Because of Nossaman’s core practices, management never considered leaving downtown, Kramer said. The firm handles health care, financial services and insurance matters, and has expertise in public infrastructure and water issues.

“Our client base is well-suited to having a downtown presence,” Kramer said. “It just makes sense for us.”

The firm’s 10-year lease will start July 15.