The report cites Paul Hastings new lease at 101 California St. in San Francisco for 40,000 square feet, downsizing from approximately 70,000 square feet at 55 2nd Street in South of Market. Another downsizing deal cited was DLA Piper's shedding of approximately 40,000 square feet or one floor at its 1251 Ave. of the Americas office here. In Chicago, Mayer Brown also recently shed two floors at the Hyatt Center, shrinking its space by nearly a quarter to 265,000 square feet over eight floors.

Lerner listed a host of firms across the country that have opted for standard office sizes of between 150 square feet to 180 square feet per associate or partner, including Alston & Bird in its Los Angeles and Milwaukee offices; Butler Rubin, Chicago; Dentons, Chicago; Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC; Knobbe Martens, Washington, DC; McGuire Woods, Charlotte, NC; Nixon Peabody, Washington, DC; Paul Hastings, New York City; Pederson & Houpt, Chicago; Pillsbury Winthrop, Silicon Valley, CA; Seyfarth Shaw, Atlanta and Chicago and Womble Carlyle, Washington, DC.

Lerner adds that law firms are also choosing to shift operations, specifically, accounting, human resources, information technology and legal support staff, to lower cost locations.

“In a sector where individual offices are still the rule rather than the exception, we expect the law firm will occupy increasingly less space in the years ahead and look to extract many of the space efficiencies that other service sector firms have already embraced,” Lerner says.

NEW YORK CITY—A growing number of law firms, faced with declining fees, stagnant headcount growth and other economic pressures, are paring back the perk of the spacious corner office with floor to ceiling downtown views, for less plush office accommodations.

In a newly released report, Savills Studley's chief economist Heidi Learner asserts that as law firms continue to explore ways to further reduce expenses, many are considering the use of universal or standard-size offices. Many are reducing the super-sized corner office in favor of average-sized offices per each partner or associate of between 150 square feet to 165 square feet.

The report notes that in addition to reducing upfront costs by allocating fewer square feet to each attorney, universal office sizes offer the benefit of lower transition costs and less disruption to the work environment. Lerner notes that one advantage to this real estate strategy is that offices no longer need to be physically reconfigured to make room for a newly-promoted partner.

The Savills report states that a number of law firms that have recently reduced the size of their operations, some of which occurred when they relocated to more efficient construction in new buildings.

The report cites Paul Hastings new lease at 101 California St. in San Francisco for 40,000 square feet, downsizing from approximately 70,000 square feet at 55 2nd Street in South of Market. Another downsizing deal cited was DLA Piper's shedding of approximately 40,000 square feet or one floor at its 1251 Ave. of the Americas office here. In Chicago, Mayer Brown also recently shed two floors at the Hyatt Center, shrinking its space by nearly a quarter to 265,000 square feet over eight floors.

Lerner listed a host of firms across the country that have opted for standard office sizes of between 150 square feet to 180 square feet per associate or partner, including Alston & Bird in its Los Angeles and Milwaukee offices; Butler Rubin, Chicago; Dentons, Chicago; Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC; Knobbe Martens, Washington, DC; McGuire Woods, Charlotte, NC; Nixon Peabody, Washington, DC; Paul Hastings, New York City; Pederson & Houpt, Chicago; Pillsbury Winthrop, Silicon Valley, CA; Seyfarth Shaw, Atlanta and Chicago and Womble Carlyle, Washington, DC.

Lerner adds that law firms are also choosing to shift operations, specifically, accounting, human resources, information technology and legal support staff, to lower cost locations.

“In a sector where individual offices are still the rule rather than the exception, we expect the law firm will occupy increasingly less space in the years ahead and look to extract many of the space efficiencies that other service sector firms have already embraced,” Lerner says.