Florida law firms have their pick of prime office space

While the finance sector suffers, Florida law firms, which have been relatively untouched by the economic downturn, have become a dominant force in South Florida real estate. Commercial brokers are lining up to offer new office digs, along with concessions and modernized spaces, to big law firms whose office leases are set to expire soon. For example, South Florida mega firm Hunton & Williams’s lease at 1111 Brickell Avenue is set to expire within months and the firm will have its pick of three new Class A office buildings set for completion this year in downtown Miami at lower prices, including the 46-story Met 2 at 333 Avenue of the Americas, 35-story 1450 Brickell, and the Brickell Financial Centre at 600 Brickell Avenue. “Those who have space coming up in the next couple years are in an enviable position,” said Bowman Brown, managing partner of Shutts and Bowen’s Miami office. [Miami Herald]