MIAMI-Miami Center is seeing some action from law firms early this year as more attorneys move into the Magic City. Transwestern just inked 26,000 square feet of new leases to law firms.

Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf, PA, a criminal defense and civil trail law firm, signed a long-term lease renewal on 11,000 square feet. Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP signed a new lease for nearly 15,000 square feet in the class A building at 201 South Biscayne Blvd. in the heart of Miami’s Central Business District.

“We are seeing both a healthy number of new firms looking for market presence in Miami and a trend of our existing sizeable law firms growing by absorbing existing smaller firms and hires on the junior level,” Transwestern SVP Eric Groffman, who leads the leasing efforts at the office building, tells GlobeSt.com. Miami Center recently completed significant design enhancements throughout its lobby, in part, to compete with the newer buildings in the market.

Miami Center does have some built-in advantages against the competition. It is the only office tower in the CBD located east of Biscayne Boulevard, which translates to unobstructed views.

“We consider Miami Center a very distinct product that separates itself from the perceived competition, especially on the Brickell side of the river,” Groffman says. “Miami Center’s location, design and amenity base are unique and therefore will continue to attract those that value these special attributes exclusive to our location.”

Sumitomo Corp. of America purchased Miami Center in 2008, and since then Transwestern has served as the exclusive leasing advisors. Statewide, Transwestern is responsible for the leasing and management of more than 27 million square feet of commercial space.

“I am very bullish on activity for 2012. The CBD has a lot of buzz surrounding it right now, and we are seeing our existing tenants expand and new tenants looking for office space in quality office towers within the area,” Groffman says. “The buildup of the amenity base in close proximity to office towers has increased tremendously over the past 24 months, and in turn, people want to live and work in the CBD now more than ever.”