The legal profession is coming to a major crossroad — a significant point at which decisions need to be made on which path to take to ensure long-term success and profitability.

One area that greatly impacts a law firm’s costs, profitability, competitiveness, brand identity and the ability to attract and retain top talent is the law office itself — its design, configuration, size and overall appeal to clients and staff.

Our experience — as well as numerous studies by our colleagues and other respected researchers — indicate that the successful law firms of today and tomorrow will benefit greatly from innovative office design and workplace strategies that provide an environment in which the best possible work is done.

It will take bold thinking and a willingness to challenge how traditional law offices look and function. Leading-edge businesses outside the legal profession — as well as many successful law firms — have shown that these bold new approaches work well.

At the same time, the law firm is a unique entity with some long-standing ways of working that don’t necessarily have to be discarded. In fact, law firms can preserve many of those established endeavors within the newly designed office of the future.

It’s important to consider the two powerful forces that have converged on the legal profession — economic pressures and a changing millennial workforce who bring with them a whole new, non-traditional view of what they want from work, life, and where and how they spend their time. These factors significantly affect law firms, in general, and their bottom lines in particular.

In this upcoming series of posts, we will explore the ways that law firms can embark on the road to opportunity and blaze new trails — without burning any bridges.

Also: Read Part 2 | Read Part 3 | Read Part 4 | Read Part 5

As President of National Office Services, Cynthia leads Colliers’ national office platform across service lines including office leasing, representing tenants and landlords, investment sales, leasing agency and property management.