Los Angeles is the second largest US metro for law firm employment and it ranks number three for law firm real estate transaction activity, according to a new report from CBRE. Law firms are changing their workplace strategies in response to new technology, and many are downsizing or right sizing their office space. Los Angeles saw 1.1 million square feet in law firm transactions from Q116 to Q217, and 36% of those transactions were contractions, while 36% were stable and 28% were expansions. We sat down with Steve Bay, vice chairman at CBRE, for an exclusive interview to talk about the transaction activity for law firm real estate and how firms are changing their workplace strategies.

GlobeSt.com: Why has there been an increase in law firm transaction activity?

Steve Bay: Los Angeles is the second largest market for law firms, so it isn't a surprise that we do a lot of law firm transactions. However, technology has caused firms to change the way that they are using their space. Years ago, everyone digitized their libraries, and today, firms are digitizing their files. Not all firms have done this yet, but they are transitioning in this direction. So, the large file rooms and the libraries are all going away, and as a result, firms don't need as much space as they used to. The attorneys that come into the workforce are much more tech savvy, and they don't need as many administrators. Now, you have firms with five attorneys to one administered, and some are as high as 10 to one. All of these things—libraries, file rooms and administers—are going away and that means that firms don't need as much interior space. Firms are able to do more with less space, and law firms are changing their real estate strategies to adopt and adapt to this.