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Rethinking (Again) Office Space
- 1. Issues BeingAddressed
Anyone working in the legal profession the last 10 to 25
years has seen significant and fundamental changes
to the practice of law. These changes have been driven
by increased technology, a reduction in secretarial
support, downward pressure on fees, an overabundance
of lawyers, and the rise of theAm Law 100 (the legal
profession’s version of the Fortune 100).And just when
everyone hoped to pause, relax, and enjoy a few years
without crises or issues, a series of new, even more
dramatic, challenges loom large on the horizon.
In its recent white paper on law firm changes, Gensler
– one of the pre-eminent architecture firms in the world
and a thought leader in law firm office design – noted
the following issues dramatically changing the legal
profession:
1. Client commitment to reducing the cost of legal
services, thereby requiring law firms to explore new
models employing contract attorneys or paralegals;
2. Legal “teams” instead of senior partners and legal
“stars”, thereby enabling the cost of work done to be
spread to those with lower billing rates;
3. Quality of life concerns driving multiple career paths,
some to partnership and some not. This is particularly
important as the Millennials, which will be 50% of the
workforce by 2020, do not have the same approach
to work-life issues as do the Baby Boomers currently
in charge;
4. The rise of firms with expanded geography. For
some firms, this means different cities and states.For
other firms it means different locations within specific
states; and
5. The drive to have an attractive, innovative work place
for attracting and retaining attorneys.
AFew Perceived Truths
While the above five issues are causing managing
partners and firm administrators more than a few
sleepless nights, there are certain evolving “truths”
that will guide the discussion and how the issues are
addressed. Some of these truths, according to a white
paper by Knoll entitled “The Emerged Law Practice” are
as follows:
1. Offices for Lawyers. Lawyers – more so than virtually
all other professionals and businesspersons – spend
more time in their office, approximately 70% of the
day. Hence, to a very great extent, the concept of a
private office for an attorney is not going away;
2. Focus and Privacy - One of biggest issues with
open plan workplace environments is their reduction
in areas for focused work. Yes, there is a trend to
more collaborative workplaces due to the increasing
number of millennials in the work force. However,
studies have shown that productivity declines in
environments not allowing for private spaces for
focused work. That is why law firms will continue
to have offices, even though they may be smaller
and occupied by a variety of practitioners at different
times;
3. Interesting Places to Work. With the decline in
administrative support, pressure on fees, fewer
partner track positons, and the rise of contract
lawyers, there will be greater emphasis on law
firms to create interesting and/or exciting places to
work. This will be a key factor in the effort to attract
new lawyers and retain existing ones. Law firm
office space will need to be “efficient, attractive
and productive,” simultaneously providing natural
light, collaborative work areas, and flexibility. Stated
another way, the image of law offices as bastions
of “tradition, hierarchy and dedication” are a thing of
the past.
4. Tech Savvy and Collaborative Practices.According
to the Knoll study, successful law firms in the future
will be those that are “fluent in the use of technology
and possessed of a groupbased (as opposed to
a singularity of leadership) mindset.” With less
emphasis being placed on “legal stars” commanding
high rates, and greater emphasis on more cost
effective and balanced teams, those collaborative
practices efficiently run on strong technology will
thrive and survive.
ANew Law Firm Office Space Model
So what is the impact of those law office issues noted
by Gensler? What is the result of the “truths” discovered
by Knoll? How should law firm administrators view office
space in the future?
The best answer was the one in Knoll’s “The Emerged
Law Practice.”As author Tracey Wymer stated, “The
legal office has become a business tool. (It will be) used
to facilitate attraction & retention (of professionals and
para-professionals); facilitate collaboration; harness
technology; lower overhead and attract new clients.”
Stated another way, the law firm office of the future will
not be a place to house practitioners. It will be a place
to generate collaborative, yet focused, work in a highly
efficient environment.
So when you hear people complain about one size
office, electronic document management, fewer legal
secretaries, contract attorneys, and a variety of other
issues, tell them that properly designed and configured
law firm space is less about real estate and office size.
Today and in the future, law firm office space is about
focus, collaboration, efficiency, and success.
Read any legal magazine or journal – online or printed – and you will find some reference to law firms’ “re-thinking” the amount of office space leased and
how it’s used. This is after 25 years of downsizing and right-sizing law firm office space - eliminating multiple reception areas, consolidating conference rooms,
dramatically reducing the size of the law library (or eliminating it), reducing the amount of file storage, shrinking the size of lawyer offices, etc.
Today,successfullawfirmsnationwidearere-thinkingwhatcanbedonetoreduceofficeoccupancycostswhilecreatingamoreefficientandproductiveworkplace environment.
This current re-thinking of the law firm office is the result of major issues confronting the legal profession nationwide.
Winter 2015 disclosures Copyright ©2015 Maryland Chapter, Association of Legal Administrators. disclosures is published four times a year and is distributed to Chapter members and law firm managing partners. To submit
articles, contact Vickey Wagner at 410.230.3806. disclosures is copyright protected and is not to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
RETHINKING (AGAIN) OFFICE SPACE
By Robert A. Manekin, Esq., Senior Vice President, JLL
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob Manekin refers to himself as a
“recovering attorney.” A 1973 graduate
of the University of Maryland Law
School, Bob served in the Navy Judge
Advocate General Corps and the US
Attorney’s Office for the District of
Hawaii before returning to Baltimore in
1977 and a career in real estate. Since
1992 Bob has specialized in representing
law firms, helping these clients develop
and implement cost effective occupancy
strategies.
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