Strategic functions—including planning, debate and collaboration—mandate face-to-face

interaction. Tactical operations, on the other hand, can be carried out without the participants

having to be in the same room.

Arends recommends that law firms integrate their strategic functions into the fabric of key offices. Conversely, he suggests relocating tactical functions to lower floors of the building, where the rents tend to be lower as well. These functions may also be shifted to more cost-efficient markets, and in some cases outsourced, with a view toward decreasing real estate needs.

In its recent report on law firms' use of office space, JLL notes that the firms have scaled back their office footprints by an average of 22.2% and cut annual rent-per-attorney by 12.1%, from an historical average of $38,535 to $33,879 today. JLL says law firms anticipate further near-term rightsizing to reduce costs by another 18.8% and square footage by 17.7% toward a national target of 625 square feet per attorney.

Thus far, JLL says, these space reductions have come from the adoption of automated libraries and office systems, rather than representing a dramatic change in workplace strategy—single-attorney offices remain the norm. However, JLL's report notes that many have shrunk cubicles for support staff, and outsourced some workflow to smaller, less expensive markets.

“What firms save on rent can be invested in new space that better meets firm and employee preferences,” says Elizabeth Cooper, co-lead of JLL's law firm practice group. Yet JLL isn't seeing see law firms moving to the hoteling model or bench seating arrangements that consulting and technology companies tend to favor. Rather, the legal industry is creatively reducing its footprint while giving attorneys the space and privacy they need to work effectively.”