LOS ANGELES-Those who follow @GlobeStcom on Twitter may have seen a post teasing the announcement yesterday, but GlobeSt.com has learned that Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, a national, full-service law firm, has signed a 10-year lease renewal of 160,000 square feet of office space at 221 N. Figueroa St. The transaction’s total consideration is estimated at $45 million.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Clayton Hovivian, EVP of tenant advisory and law firm practice groups, along with Hank Elder, SVP, represented the law firm in its renewal. In recent years, Hovivian also has assisted the law firm with transactions in New Jersey and in San Diego.

“We are very pleased to recommit to a location where our firm has been able to grow over the past several decades,” explains Robert F. Lewis, founder, of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, in a prepared statement. “With Clayton and Hank’s help, we conducted a careful review of the market and determined that 221 N. Figueroa offered the most attractive economics, ample parking for our employees at competitive rates and other concessions we were able to secure.”

According to public records, the building is owned by the L.A. City Council, who purchased the building from a JV between Kennedy Wilson and Broadway Partners for $269 million back in 2007. Studley tells GlobeSt.com that it is unable to provide any building occupancy information at this time. The landlord was represented by Onno Zwaneveld, executive vice president, CB Richard Ellis.

“Market fundamentals in the downtown LA office market saw a small improvement in the first quarter as direct vacancy dropped by 0.02 percentage points,” Tim Miller, SVP of Jones Lang LaSalle, tells GlobeSt.com. Although not involved in this particular deal, Miller explains that the good news for the Downtown L.A. office leasing market is that “Tenants are making decisions and locking in longer term leases as they become more comfortable with long term business plans.” With that being said, Miller continues, “it is still a very competitive submarket with landlords going toe-to-toe to attract tenants that are shopping for space.”

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Natalie Dolce

Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.