WHITE PLAINS, NY-Leason Ellis LLP, an intellectual property law firm, has leased 13,000 square feet--a full floor--at One Barker Ave. in an expansion that was handled by brokers from Cushman & Wakefield’s Rye Brook, NY office. The firm is moving from 81 Main St. here, where its previous space is now available.

Peter Sloane, a partner in the firm, tells GlobeSt.com that the move reflects growth within the firm’s practice area that was helped along by a White Plain’s address.

“Intellectual property law, patents and copyrights is constantly becoming more important in the US economy, particularly as we move to a global economy,” Sloane says. “What you have here is a group of attorneys who grew up practicing in Manhattan but live in Westchester and, number one, wanted to avoid the commute into the city and, number two, with the recession want to lower their legal fees and pass on the cost savings to clients.”

Christopher O’Callaghan, a C&W senior director who worked on the deal, says that he’s seen a lot of law firm activity in the area, which offers significant cost savings compared to operating in Manhattan. Expansions are typical, he says, even in the wake of the dissolution of Thacher Proffitt & Wood, a New York-based firm that had a White Plains office.

“We’re very active with a lot of law firms in the area,” O’Callaghan says. “A significant amount of the space that Thatcher Proffitt gave away has been released to law firms.”

O’Callaghan adds that he has recently closed another law firm deal in the area. He reiterates Sloane’s comments about cost savings, attributing the uptick that he’s seen in law firm growth in the area to it.

“A lot of these law practices are partnerships and partnerships share the overhead--and the overhead, a lot of it is salary and real estate,” he says. “The combination of those things make White Plains a very compelling location for law firms.”