Legal occupiers are adapting to hybrid working patterns with more flexible, tech-enabled office designs that support modern ways of working. Whilst there is regional variation, the majority of firms today are dedicating more area to multi-purpose shared spaces, which can be used for team-wide meetings, collaborative tasks, or client-facing events. Acoustic design is also key, both in terms of privacy and noise pollution absorption in open plan spaces, to remove disruptions to concentration and productivity.
The sector, already ahead of other professional service sectors in its adoption of AI, is trending to smart technology that optimises office utilisation and facility management. One example is that firms are moving away from legacy meeting room booking systems, to intelligent solutions that select rooms based on attendance by in-person and remote attendees, easing pressures on meeting rooms.
While law firms continue to require private offices for their lawyers, many are shifting to more open plan layouts better suited to maximising utilisation rates in hybrid working models, particularly in European and Asian markets. In open plan layouts, office neighbourhood seating has gained traction as a way of organising workspaces, so that legal professionals who need to work with each other sit together. Germany is an exception in Europe, where regulation and expectation around personal working space drives a preference for a cellular layout. Individual offices are also culturally embedded in US markets, where an average of 70% of office space is dedicated to private offices, compared to below 40% in EMEA and Asia Pacific. A trend to same-size offices for partners and associates is gaining traction across the sector, particularly in the US and Asia Pacific, reducing overall square footage and fostering a greater sense of office comradery, an important element for attracting and retaining staff