2023 Bright Insight: The 2023 National Legal Sector Benchmark Survey Results

Many of the trends that are at the forefront of firms’ minds were already gaining steam in the years prior to the pandemic— movement towards digital document management, use of virtual meetings internally and with clients, the need for heightened IT security, increased focus on attorney and staff health and wellness, and even flexible work arrangements— but the speed of legal sector workplace transformation related to these shifts has accelerated since the beginning of 2020.

The work-from-home “experiment” of 2020 has created an opportunity for occupiers across all industries to rethink the nature of work and to make changes to office layouts, footprints, and portfolios. Law firms, in particular, are overwhelmingly anticipating making changes to their office workplace . Only 10% plan to keep their pre-COVID workplace while 16% expect to make drastic changes. The remaining 75% believe their firm will make incremental changes to their workplace in the coming years.

Due to COVID-19 and legal sector shifts, does your firm anticipate your office workplace to change in the coming years?

Yes, and we plan to make drastic changes No, we plan to keep our pre-COVID-19 workplace

Yes, but we plan to make incremental changes

100%

4%

3%

9%

10%

12%

Most firms (74%) are making incremental changes to their workplace. Only 10% plan to keep their pre-COVID workplace while 16% expect to make drastic changes.

24%

80%

58%

60%

68%

87%

74%

83%

68%

40%

20%

38%

21%

16%

10%

9%

8%

0%

Global 100 Am Law 1 - 50 Am Law 51 - 100 Am Law 200 None of the above

Grand Total

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research

THE 2023 NATIONAL LEGAL SECTOR BENCHMARK SURVEY RESULTS | 17