Will partner offices shrink to associate size after the pandemic?
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Law firms are moving toward smaller, single-size offices, as remote work is expected to remain an option after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Law.com spoke with law office design consultants and law firm partners about the trend. Offices as large as 15 by 20 feet for partners are shrinking to associate-size offices in the range of 10 by 15 feet to 10 by 18 feet, Law.com reports.
Todd Lippman, vice chairman of the CBRE, a real estate services company, told Law.com that the trend varies by geographic region. But generally, he said, more than two-thirds of law firms are moving to one-size offices that are the size of associate offices.
A leader of one of the nation’s top 100 law firms confirmed the trend.
“It will be the rare firm that won’t go to uniform-size offices,” the lawyer told Law.com.
The article cited a recent Gensler survey that found that 46% of lawyers want to resume working in the office five days per week when the pandemic ends. The breakdown: 28% want to work from home one or two days per week; 16% want to work from home three or four days per week; and 10% want to work at home five days per week.
With more flexible working arrangements, more firms will provide unassigned rooms that can be used by lawyers who are at the office on any particular day, according to real estate consultants who spoke with Law.com.
