"Vacancy stabilization is a symbol of recovery," he noted, adding that many of the larger deals were for law firms. "I never thought I'd see the day that law firms are driving demand." An additional factor he spoke of was that law firms tend to be higher amounts--more than $50 per sf. Some law firms that previously announced lease deals in excess of 100,000 sf this year include Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, which took 183,650 sf in Midtown and O'Melveny & Myers LLP, which inked a deal for 180, 304 also in Midtown. In fact, according to C&W figures, law firms accounted for 27% of demand.

"The legal industry has come into its own," Mosler commented. "There is organic growth, but they're also growing through mergers and acquisitions. It's a change in how business is done."

And the legal industry driving demand is not just a local phenomenon. C&W research points out that nationally it has maintained a position as one of the dominant users of office space despite the economic slowdown. Large deals in other locales included Sidley Austin Brown & Wood inking a deal for 510,000 sf in Chicago and Dickstein Shapiro Morin and Oshinsky LLP taking 440,000 sf in Washington DC.