Our latest report, the 2020 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. In addition to examining the overarching themes and developments in real estate performance and law firms’ real estate strategy, we analyze local market conditions in 24 key legal sector locations across the U.S. and Canada.

The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a reassessment of commercial real estate fundamentals and the nature of space usage. The potential ramifications are examined in the report as well.

Key Observations:

• Future trends in space occupancy and real estate strategy are being cast in a new light as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts all areas of business operations.
• The U.S. office market posted another positive year in 2019, with healthy demand, rising rents and a record low vacancy rate. Net absorption in 2019 was a solid 46.9 million square feet, with the greatest occupancy gains driven by the tech sector.
• Class A downtown asking rents rose by 3.8% year over year to $50.13 per square foot.
• The national office vacancy rate reached an all-time low of 11.4% in Q3 2019, where it remained for the rest of the year.
• While the volume of office space under construction — at 161.1 million square feet — has reached an all-time high, a significant proportion of this space is already pre-committed.
• New supply added to the market in 2019 totaled 64.8 million square feet, up by 8% year over year.

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