03.19 Legal Briefs - LSAG Newsletter

To support and share how these shifts are already occurring within the legal sector, outlined below are a few test cases of law firms that have been incredibly progressive in their law firm design. While the US market is behind other markets across Europe and Asia and into Australia, it is important to note that with the ever-growing globalization of law, we anticipate these types of design shifts to greatly impact US law firm design in the coming years. Australia: Gilbert & Tobin – Open and Beyond In other parts of the world growing trends in the workplace are not just limited to tech or young companies but are also integrating into legal workplaces with great success. Gilbert & Tobin, an Australia based firm, is recognized as one of the pioneers leading the pack in law firm design. For their new office in Sydney completed in 2016, Gilbert & Tobin leveraged the opportunity to reinvent and revolutionize their workspace. This revolution was led by CEO Danny Gilbert, an Australian legal stalwart known for his innovation and fierce determination to look to the future. Danny was focused on how to best prepare the firm for the future practice of law and to create a bespoke unique environment. He and his partnership targeted ways to break tradition with a focused ambition to democratize the workplace, focusing on the health of teams, collaboration, and mentoring. It was identified early in the design strategy phase, that individually enclosed rooms (private ‘owned’ offices) would be counter intuitive to the message they were trying to convey in the new design. This was not a light decision and was greatly debated and discussed

key decision makers leading how new office space gets defined. In Australia, there appears to be a greater enthusiasm and support to push younger generations into the design conversation to help drive change. In Australia there is a notable push for duo-mentoring (mentoring up and down) with seasoned attorneys mentoring juniors in the practice of law while at the same time new younger attorneys who embrace tech-rich working styles are expected to mentor in the other direction. It is expected that they will be the ones who will drive real change and create momentum around new ways of working. 2. Real estate costs and occupancy efficiencies are leading motivators for change in the US: As law firms pursue an ideal RSF/per attorney occupancy (today +/- 600 SF), enthusiasm for workplace innovation often enters the dialog as a means to achieve this. In Australia, the motivation to evolve workspace is being instigated more by leadership’s vision to evolve the business model. This is not to say that Australian firms don’t benefit from denser and more efficient planning, but rather the key motivator is not cost savings alone and instead is being driven by an earnest quest to evolve the processes and practice of law. 3. Focus on the future and the greater good: It’s fair to acknowledge that the Australians have shown more of a willingness to experiment and have committed to adjusting their individual work styles, habits, and traditions more readily than their US counterparts for the benefit of the greater good. There are several progressive examples where newer law firm environments can support the foundational aspects of the practice (i.e. client confidentiality) while at the same time celebrating transparency, collaboration, and mentoring without building out traditional, four-walled, and assigned offices.

While the US market is behind other markets across Europe and Asia and into Australia, it is important to note that with the ever-growing globalization of law, we anticipate these types of design shifts to greatly impact US law firm design in the coming years.

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