Law Firms Make Their Case for EFFICIENT SPACE
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OCTOBER 14-20, 2005 Volume 24, Number 35 Law firms make their case for EFFICIENT SPACE MIKE MERGEN Chairman Sheldon Bonovitz says Duane Morris will save $4 million a year. Looking to update their office environs JEFF BLUMENTHAL money by tailoring office space to the modern realities of STAFF WRITER their practices. side from personnel, the biggest expense for any With secretarial ratios down and law firm libraries and paper file law firm involves real estate. And with firms running storage space being replaced by computers, law firms are coming their organizations in a more business-like manner up with new ways to use the core of their floor plans, according to A over the past decade, they have attempted to save Glenn Blumenfeld of Tactix Real Estate Advisors, a former Dechert REAL ESTATE: Firms tailoring office space to the modern realities of their practices partner who advised his old firm and Post Blumenfeld said the firm’s floor plan at & Schell with their recent moves, as well as Cira is more efficient because of less space Blank Rome in its decision to stay at One afforded for secretarial work stations, paper Logan Square. files and the law library, as well as a uniform Blumenfeld said office size for partners. He also said that law firms with while Verizon’s layout offers 12 corner expiring leases are offices on each floor it also creates always looking for a inefficient use of space with several more modern office corridors on each floor. layout. Dechert’s move to the trapezoid-shaped “It used to be easy Cira Centre will allow the firm to have a to figure out how to sizable number of lawyer offices along the configure your outside of the building while being able to MIKE MERGEN Duane Morris’ new digs at United Peters space,” Blumenfeld use the inside in a more efficient manner Plaza. said. “Each lawyer than it has at Verizon Tower, Winokur said. would get a perimeter office with two Post & Schell, which moved into 4 Penn such fears, placing certain associates in windows, so you multiplied the number of Center from 1800 John F. Kennedy Blvd. interior offices. Bonovitz said with the lawyers by the number of windows to two years ago, has saved space by enhanced lighting from larger windows at determine how much space you needed and implementing a one-size office, 145 square United Plaza, interior offices are not wholly then dealt with the core from there. But now feet, for all lawyers and senior staff. CEO unattractive for younger lawyers. there is difficulty with the inside space. Brian Peters said the firm actually has fewer Bonovitz said Duane Morris also created Things have changed since some of these floors — three, compared to seven at 1800 more space by having a single reception firms signed leases 10 years ago.” JFK. area rather than three, eliminating interior When you talk to Sheldon Bonovitz, He said the litigation-heavy Post & stairwells and shrinking the law library and chairman of Duane Morris, about his firm’s Schell actually needs larger floors for its paper file storage space. The interior is now move across the street from One Liberty big conference center where it entertains filled with lawyer and staff offices or Place to United Plaza last month, he speaks clients and its various workrooms and war workstations, additional conference rooms of the new space being “40,000 square feet rooms for litigation teams working on major and larger break areas on each floor. more efficient.” cases. Peters also believes that having fewer Another space-saving trend is to Bonovitz said the firm occupied 800 floors promotes more collegiality. implement one-size partner offices rather square feet per lawyer at One Liberty, where Peters said clients do not want to see than having four or five different sizes, the firm had been located since 1990. At fancy lawyer offices, and are always which causes an administrative nightmare United Plaza, that number decreased to 600 entertained in the firm’s conference center, when a partner with a choice office leaves. square feet per lawyer. With a more efficient which comes equipped with a concierge, “Everyone always tries to move into the use of space and rents that are $15 per during visits. larger office,” Blumenfeld said. “Or the one square foot lower, Bonovitz said Duane “I’m thankful every day we went with with the better view.” Morris will save upwards to $4 million a [same-size offices],” Peters said. “We have Blumenfeld said office space has become year by making the move. been more efficient financially and both a method to advance a law firm’s Dechert will occupy only 219,000 square otherwise.” business model while also maintaining or feet, with options for more space, at its new Blumenfeld thinks the ideal office tower improving its culture. offices in Cira Centre, compared to 239,000 for a law firm would be one with a “Different law firms have different profit square feet at its home of the past 15 years, rectangular or other narrow shape. With less margins and different goals for their space,” Verizon Tower. Dechert also had roughly core space needed, square-shaped buildings Blumenfeld said. “A [plaintiff personal 30,000 square feet of space at 1601 Market are more difficult for firms to fill. injury] firm might use its space a lot to St. for back-office operations that will no Blumenfeld said it is not a coincidence that entertain clients and because of that might longer be needed. This change is not a narrow building like One Logan Square want an impressive office. But a lot of firms because Dechert has decided to stop is 80 percent occupied by law firms. might not want something that opulent. growing in Philadelphia. The firm has One idea for filling the core would be to Your space isn’t just there to house people. increased its personnel by between 20 place lawyers in inside offices. It says something about who you are.” percent and 25 percent since the beginning “But no one wants to be the first law firm of this calender year, according to firm to do that,” Blumenfeld said. chairman Barton Winokur. Apparently, though, Duane Morris has no [email protected] | 215-238-5136 Reprinted for web use with permission from the Philadelphia Business Journal. ©2005, all rights reserved. Reprinted by Scoop ReprintSource 1-800-767-3263.