Issues Being AddressedAnyone 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 the Am 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.

A Few Perceived TruthsWhile 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.

A New Law Firm Office Space ModelSo 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, successful law firms nationwide are re-thinking what can be done to reduce office occupancy costs while creating a more efficient and productive workplace 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 SPACEBy 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.

A CHAPTER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORSSPRING 2015www.alamd.org

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Copyright ©2015 Maryland Chapter, Associationof Legal Administrators.

disclosures is published four times a year and isdistributed to Chapter members and law firmmanaging partners. To submit articles, contactVickey Wagner at 410.230.3806.

Article reprints are available upon written request.

disclosures is copyright protected and is not to bereproduced in any form without written permis-sion from the publisher.

the newsletter of the Maryland Chapter of The Association of Legal Administrators, Inc.