SKGF Huge Lease Bucks 700 SF Per Attorney Trend

WASHINGTON, DC-Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox has decided to stay put at 1100 New York Ave., inking its third lease with the building owner, this time for 117,711 square feet. The law firm has been steadily increasing its space needs in the East End building, since it first occupied it as one of the original tenants in 1993 with 36,000 square feet.

In this latest round, the law firm is increasing its occupancy from 87,000 square feet to more than 117,711 square feet, or as CBRE EVP Bruce Pascal tells GlobeSt.com, “by more than three-quarters of a floor.” Pascal represented the law firm in the transaction, which includes a growth opportunity of more than 30%.

SKGF had considered several alternatives, including a duel-location office model. One of the reasons it stayed was due to the changes underway in the neighborhood, Pascal says, pointing to the transformation of the nearby old convention center site into City Center and its proximity to Verizon Center.

1100 New York Ave., is a historic building, featuring Art Deco embellishments, that is fronted by the former Washington Greyhound Terminal. It is owned by John Hancock Life Insurance Co. Irv Lieberman of Manulife represented the owner.

The Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox lease is the exception to how law firm leases have been trending in recent years. Much like financial firms did a decade ago, law firms have been consolidating their non-attorney operations, such as human resources or accounting, in one center. Few attorneys have their own secretaries anymore, with most relying on a secretarial pool. Also, as more and more content is digitized, the need for law firm libraries has diminished. The upshot, Pascal says, is that law firms now target between 600 square feet to 700 square feet per attorney. A few years ago, that ratio was 800 square feet to 1,000 square feet per attorney. “Also, much depends on the law firm’s specialty,” Pascal says. “Litigation attorneys are more paper-intensive in their practice, for example, and require more space.”

An IP law firm, SKGF is finding that its space needs are expanding because of its workload, Pascal says. “It is bursting at the seams right now. They are so busy that they don’t have one empty office.”