Law firms want smaller offices amid SoFla’s shifting real estate market

Average law firm office size in SoFla decreased from 800-1,000 sf per lawyer to 550-700 sf per lawyer

Akerman’s office space at Brickell City Centre (Credit: Pixabay)
Akerman’s office space at Brickell City Centre (Credit: Pixabay)

Law firms’ office spaces are shrinking in South Florida.

The average office size for a law firm in South Florida decreased from 800-1,000 square feet per lawyer to 550-700 square feet per lawyer, according to a recent CBRE study cited in the Daily Business Review.

Nationally, law firms’ average square footage reduced 27 percent between 2010 and 2017, according to the study.

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Andrew Smulian, former chairman of Akerman, told the publication that when the company moved into Three Brickell City Centre in 2016 all attorneys had the same office size of 170 square feet.

Shutts & Bowen also decreased its space per attorney in 2015 when the law firm moved from the Miami Center to the Southeast Financial Center in downtown Miami. The firm repurposed the remaining square footage as a conference and meeting room, which is also a trend among firms, according to the Daily Business Review.

A number of large and small law firms have offices in Miami’s Brickell Financial District and downtown area, including downtown Miami’s Courthouse Tower at 44 West Flagler Street. [DBR] – Amanda Rabines