Our latest report, the 2019 Law Firm Services Spotlight Report, examines real estate trends in the legal industry as law firms strive to achieve space efficiency and control costs, all while attracting the best talent. We quantify shifts within the industry by studying law firm space allocations and rental costs across the downtown areas of 19 North American office markets. The current survey, undertaken in Q2 2019, is compared against our prior survey from Q4 2017. In addition, we offer some pointers on premises strategy going forward.

Key Observations:

• Space allocations for legal professionals are down by 6% over the past 18 months
• Where law firms are moving to new premises, or renewing in place, the reduction in footprint is generally greater
• Floorspace per partner and attorney is falling in primary markets while showing little change in secondary locations
• The average gross rent per square foot of space being paid by law firms has risen by 6.5%
• Total occupancy costs are holding static, having increased by less than 1% per partner and attorney
• The average rent being paid is 10% less than current Class A asking rates

For more information about real estate trends in the legal industry, download the full report.