The greatest impacts on how a legal firm utilizes interior space have been advances in technologies that serve the practice of law. As firms no longer dedicate large portions of space to libraries or paper file storage, and as perimeter window lines continue to be utilized for conference rooms and attorney offices, the real question is how do we repurpose and make effective use of a floor’s interior space? Common changes in law firm design include separating public and practice spaces, adding flexibility through touch-down lounges and multi-purpose kitchen areas, and utilizing interior spaces for first- and second-year associate offices. However, many firms have been reluctant to invest in modern designs due to high capital costs of $50-$120 per square foot

1. While nothing will replace
the traditional real estate
cliché that it’s all about
location, location, location,
today law firms’ real estate
also needs to be about
flexibility, flexibility,
flexibility.
How the most sophisticated
law firms are approaching the
use of office space
The smartest law firms will plan for the future by negotiating early in the
process, at the RFP stage, for:
• Rights to renew on all or a portion of its premises with a realistic
definition of fair market rental rate
• Solid expansion rights
• Early lease termination rights
• Early contraction rights, and
• Greater protection on rights to assign and sublease.
Let’s take a closer look at the most important considerations for your
Southern California law firm today.
Evolving business and geo-economic trends
Throughout the legal services sector, from AM 250s to regional firms, law
firms are experiencing increased competition and fewer exclusive clients.
Clients are viewing many legal services as commodity work. Client-driven
cost controls are exerting downward pressure on profit margins, and
have resulted in an increase in fixed-fee assignments and negotiated or
discounted billing rates. Client reluctance to pay an associate’s six-figure
salary for document review has forced an increasing number of firms to
outsource these services and engage contract attorneys.
Today, only 15 of the Fortune 500 choose to
make the Los Angeles Basin their home
Our regional business climate is no longer as attractive as it once was.
Los Angeles, and California in general, are no longer perceived as a
business-friendly environment, and correctly so. As recently as 2010,
the Los Angeles metro area was the headquarters location for 23 of the
Fortune 500 firms. Today, only 15 of these companies choose to make
the L.A. Basin - Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties -- their
In many cases, major corporations and law firms attempt to promulgate
long-range, 10-to-15-year plans for their office space needs. The
common result of these plans is that they can rarely, if ever, stand the
test of time. In fact, most of the plans are not even workable within two
years. Accordingly, sophisticated companies and law firms that are
looking to their future office space requirements understand that more
than ever before they need to focus on attaining maximum flexibility.
When your office location is adaptable to a business environment that is
evolving rapidly on many levels, you need office space that ensures your
real estate investment today will continue to be a desirable workplace
tomorrow.
Here in Southern California, the legal community is responding to
five underlying drivers in its approach to office space design. These
influencers include:
1. Flexibility
2. Evolving business trends
3. Technological advancements
4. Generational/cultural shift
5. Market trends

2. The most obvious
change in law firm
design has been the
separation of the law
firm’s public space
from its practice
space

3. Cultural changes
The generational shift has brought about a cultural paradigm shift
that will continue to affect the manner in which law firms deliver legal
services and will have a corresponding effect on workplace design.
Partners and senior administration, who are usually Baby Boomers,
and junior partners and associates who are generally Millennials, work
and interact in distinctly different ways. While Boomers are comfortable
working in their offices on their own, Millennials tend to prefer a more
collaborative workplace environment and more varied venues. Thus, the
spaces each group utilizes are another point of divergence. Boomers
tend to limit their use of space within the office footprint to two areas, the
individual’s office and the firm’s conference rooms. Millennials, on the
other hand, tend to use four areas: their individual offices, conference
rooms, teaming rooms, and the lunchroom.
Younger attorneys also demonstrate an enhanced level of concern for
quality of life, driven by the often-expressed desire to achieve a balance
between their professional careers and personal lives. Many of the new
generation of attorneys are motivated more by interesting assignments,
a sense of achievement, and the ability to collaborate, and less
motivated by the future rewards associated with the partnership track.
Increasingly, concern for environmental issues ranks high among young
attorneys, and is resulting in more sustainable, green design of interior
improvements. Use of recyclable construction materials and furniture
systems composed of recycled products will continue to grow. When
push comes to shove, however, the attorneys who truly want successful
careers in major law firms will recognize that nothing succeeds like
high quality product and very hard work. Over the long run, the most
successful firms will be those that enhance the workplace environment
to enable attorneys and staff to work long hours and produce top quality
work.
Changes in law firm design
The most obvious changes in law firm design, brought about by this
combination of business trends, technological advancements and
cultural shifts, has been the separation of law firms’ public spaces
home. For those that stay, tourism and hospitality rank among Southern
California’s top industries, and the entertainment sector, in the form of
film, television, and music production, remains our best-known industry.
California has always been known as an incubator of new ideas, new
products and entrepreneurial spirit. The growth in the number of
start-ups in the technology-focused “Silicon Beach” area, Santa Monica
south through Venice, is proof of this. But start-ups, although they
create an exciting business environment, remain dependent upon their
VC funding. Until this sector of the economy realizes its potential and
transitions to real profits, these young companies are hard-pressed to
pay the billing rates charged by AM 250s and large regional firms.
Technology
Advancements in technology have had a meaningful impact on modern
law firm design. Digital filing has dramatically reduced the need for
onsite paper storage and records centers. Where four to five years ago
it was common, it is rare indeed today to see a new law firm plan that
includes rolling or high-density filing systems.
Across the spectrum of firms, libraries have
shrunk by as much as 75% to 100%
The law library has become obsolete, as resources become instantly
available on the Internet. Enhanced online research capabilities, coupled
with the demonstrated preference by the young generation of associates
to access and assimilate information electronically, have greatly reduced
the need for the significant amount of space that once had to be
dedicated to paper libraries. Across the spectrum of legal firms, libraries
have shrunk by as much as 75 to 100 percent. We will continue to see
a reduction in space dedicated to libraries; where practice collections
are necessary, they will be located in interior case rooms dedicated to
specific practice groups.

4. from their practice spaces, along with a new flexibility that is key to the
planned uses of spaces in law firm design.
The public conference center that features upgraded finishes and
enhanced amenities for clients and visiting attorneys serves as a
branding platform for a law firm and its culture. The percentage of
space dedicated to conference centers will depend on the composition
of practice groups and whether the office is the firm’s headquarters or
a regional location (law firms try never to use the word “branch”) of an
AM 250. Conference center capacity will range from a low of one seat
per attorney to as many as two seats per attorney, with local offices
of AM 250s trending toward the higher number due to the need to
accommodate visiting attorney needs.
Some full-floor and multi-floor firms are moving their lunchrooms
and dining areas from the interior space to the window line, and
incorporating a “touch-down” lounge, both adjacent to the conference
and reception area. Some multi-locational firms have pioneered
incorporating the touch-down room concept in their space design.
Featuring refreshments, wireless connectivity, and flat screens
streaming live news channels, these interior lounges allow attorneys to
park visitors and clients in a comfortable and productive environment
before or after a conference or a meeting.
Adding flexibility, the kitchen is no longer built as a lunchroom for
staff only, but is being developed as the firm’s multi-purpose “family
room.” As in many homes, the kitchen has transitioned into the central
gathering place for both attorneys and staff, with more and varied
uses throughout the day. In the morning and afternoon, these family
rooms are places for attorneys to meet. During the noon hour, they
are frequented by both administrative staff and attorneys, and in the
evenings, they serve as venues for social gatherings and communal,
overtime meals. To capture a more inviting, coffee house–like
character, some larger firms are outsourcing coffee and food services to
popular, nationally recognized vendors.
The millennial generation’s fluency with computers has further shifted
the staffing requirements of law firms. Attorneys are drafting, cutting
and pasting their documents, thereby affecting the traditional role of
administrative support. Once common was a secretary to attorney ratio
of two to one. Today larger firms are more likely to be running at a ratio
of 4 to 1, and trending towards 6 or 7 to 1. At the same time, paralegal
to attorney ratios have gone in the other direction. In mixed practice
firms, a 9 to 1 ratio was fairly standard; current ratios are closer to a 6
to 1 mix.
The greatest impacts on how a legal firm
utilizes interior space have been advances
in technologies that serve the practice of law
As enhanced connectivity via technology facilitates the interactions that
help tie a firm together, it also allows individuals the flexibility to work
from different locations. JLL recently represented two full-floor firms
in long-term leases that programmed the design of their new suites to
provide the ability to telecommute for as many as 10 percent of their

5. attorneys. Despite of this micro-trend we do not anticipate that hoteling,
i.e. providing office space to employees only on an as-needed basis,
will occur on a wide scale within the legal services sector. As is the case
with accounting firms, the trend for most law firms is for attorneys to be
out of the office for as much as 75-80 percent of their time to provide
meaningful benefit.
The greatest impacts on how a legal firm utilizes interior space have
been advances in technologies that serve the practice of law. As firms
no longer dedicate large portions of space to libraries or paper file
storage, and as perimeter window lines continue to be utilized for
conference rooms and attorney offices, the real question is: -How do we
repurpose and make effective use of a floor’s interior space?
In the past, traditional law firm design provided window offices for
attorneys, paths of travel by secretarial stations, and, through to
the core of the building, spaces for file storage and various support
functions. Based on that operating model, a 45-foot depth from building
core to window line was considered ideal. A logical reason exists that
explains why large portions of the high-rise buildings in the Los Angeles
CBD were designed with floor plates that measured 25,000 square feet.
[Note: Based on the revised Building Owners and Managers Association
(BOMA)’s standard of measurement, that same floor has now grown
to nearly 28,000 rentable square feet.] When law firms lease space,
one key analysis is to compare the net effective usable square feet in a
building under consideration.
In higher-priced markets such as Washington D.C. and New York City,
firms are increasingly using the interior portions of a floor for first- and
second-year associates’ offices. Provided that both exterior and interior
offices have glass walls that allow sufficient exterior light to penetrate
the floor, this design scheme is proving to be popular. We have yet to
see it in Southern California, but it’s safe to assume we will in the years
to come.
Another coming design concept that, although it is discussed regularly,
has not yet gained traction in Southern California is the one-size-
fits-all attorney office. One-size offices are common in Australia and
London, where full-service rents bump up against $100.00 per square
foot, putting stress on the bottom line. Office size has generally
been perceived in Southern California as compensation to senior
attorneys. The senior partners of two important Los Angeles law firms
have endorsed this design direction, but only two or three firms in the
Los Angeles CBD have yet successfully embraced the single-sized
office design. We believe that the concept has significant merit, and
will be implemented with increased frequency. Individual offices for
partners and associates will become smaller. The benefits to the firm
include reduced occupancy costs due to a smaller footprint, enhanced
flexibility in expanding and reducing the size of practice groups, and the
elimination of periodic capital cost expenditures by obviating the need to
relocate or resize offices for attorneys as they transition to partnership.
Downtown Los Angeles market trends
With rare exception, AM-250’s and large regional law firms within the
Los Angeles basin are located in the Los Angeles CBD and Century
City submarkets. The Class-A sector of L.A.’s CBD comprises 21
institutional high-rises offering a total of 21 million square feet of office
space. Within that core are located 67 AM-250s and 41 non-AMs that
occupy more than 10,000 square feet. These 108 firms lease a total of
5.1 million square feet, or 25.8 percent of the sector.
With a year-end total of negative 69,551 r.s.f., 2014 marked the seventh
consecutive year that the Class-A sector of the CBD office market
posted a negative direct absorption. During the 84-month period from
January 2008 through 2014, tenants vacated a total of 1.5 million
square feet of space, representing a reduction of some 7.2 percent of
the 20.95 million square foot institutional sector.
Direct absorption - Downtown (Class A)
-318,030
-256,014
768,909
-128,345
-55,054
-352,653
-448,593
-195,223
-250,688
-69,651 -23,673
-600,000
-400,000
-200,000
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

6. The greatest impacts
on how a legal firm
utilizes interior space
have been advances
in technologies that
serve the practice of
law

7. About the authors
Thequestionis-why? Andtheansweris-capitalcosts
Firms have generally been reluctant to invest the capital dollars
necessary to affect the efficiencies associated with modern law firm
design. Recent exceptions to this trend include Morrison & Foerster’s,
Anderson, McPharlin & Conners’ and Meyers Nave’s relocations to AON
Center, and White & Case’s move to City National Bank Plaza. Both
Morrison & Foerster’s and White & Case’s multiple-floor relocations
resulted in significant reductions in occupied space.
The fact remains that to design, build and furnish law office space is
expensive. Hard and soft costs from a core & shell configuration can
run $150.00 to $200.00 per rentable square foot. JLL’s contemporary
experience shows that modifying even already improved space may
exceed $110.00 per square foot. Recent implementation of the more
stringent Title #24 energy efficiency requirements will push these costs
as much as 10-15 percent higher. When a firm considers a ten-year
lease within the Class-A sector, its tenant improvement allowance today
will be in the range of $65.00-$85.00 per square foot. Depending on
the firm’s design standards, this translates into an out-of-pocket capital
expenditure of $50.00 to $120.00 per square foot. Based on Q4-2015
full-service rents of $36.00-$45.00 per square foot per year, relocation
capital costs can represent anywhere from 16 to 40 months of rent.
Granted, some of these costs will be offset by rent abatement. However,
unless a firm is absolutely confident with its long-term position in Los
Angeles, and, importantly, comfortable with the inherent flexibility of both
its space design and its lease, that firm will find it challenging to commit
to this significant level of investment.
Mike E. Meyer is a partner with DLA
Piper and Chairman of the Los Angeles
office. Mr. Meyer has developed
a national reputation as one of the
preeminent leasing attorneys in the
United States, and regularly represents
many of this country’s leading financial
institutions, accounting firms and law
firms in connection with major lease
transactions throughout the country.
Tom McDonald is an Executive Vice
President in JLL’s downtown Los Angeles
office. Active in the commercial real estate
industry since 1979, Mr. McDonald’s core
practice is the representation of corporate
and professional firms in the acquisition
and disposition of office facilities in the
Central Business District and Tri-Cities
markets.

8. For more information contact:
JLL
515 South Flower Street
Suite 1300
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tom McDonald
Executive Vice President
+1 213 239 6080
thomas.mcdonald@am.jll.com
About JLL
JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized
real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real
estate. With annual revenue of $4 billion, JLL operates in 75 countries worldwide. On behalf of its
clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio
of 3 billion s.f. and completed $99 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2013.
Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $47.6 billion of real
estate assets under management. For further information, visit www.jll.com
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