Hartford Business Journal

22 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 FOCUS: Law Shifting Paradigm Hartford area law firms seek more investment in technology, less on office space By Stephen MacLeod Special to the Hartford Business Journal T he three highest fixed costs for law firms have traditionally been personnel, real estate and technology — from highest to lowest in that order. But the pandemic has changed the mindset of many industry leaders. After more than a year of lawyers working remotely and increased dependency on digital tools, many firms are planning to shift their investments to spend less on real estate and more on technology. The trend is manifesting itself as more law firms embrace a hybrid work environment in which their lawyers and other staffers split time between the office and their home. "We are looking at trying to change some of our long-term investment in real estate to long-term investment in technology, which we feel will make us much more competitive and allow us to have talent wherever the best talent is," said Kent Nevins, chair of Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin's management committee. "During this pandemic, we've hired talented people in Colorado, Atlanta, Florida, all sorts of places. Since we will always have a virtual component, we are looking carefully at how we lay out our office." Shipman & Goodwin, which currently occupies 110,145 square feet at One Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford, is looking to downsize its office footprint as its lease comes up for renewal, Nevins said. The firm is likely not alone. As the hybrid model becomes standard, and lawyers spend more time working remotely, many Hartford-area law firms will be reassessing their space needs. Sherry Cushman, vice chair and executive managing director of commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, told Thomson Reuters in March that the legal sector will be downsizing "its real estate needs on average 10% to 30% — and in some cases, 40% to 50%," based on polling her firm has done. "In general, companies view the hybrid model as becoming, at least in the short term, more of a standard," said Jon Putnam, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield's Hartford office. "And therefore they use slightly less space. There's a few that are outside of that paradigm, but not many. The majority are thinking they need less space." Another wrinkle in pandemic- era office space needs is document storage. The need to store documents has decreased significantly as the pandemic accelerated file digitization. And many law firms have traditionally been major holders of paper files, which require extra space. But as law firms rethink their office space, don't expect them to abandon it altogether. Clients still prefer a physical office to meet, said Leander Dolphin, co-managing partner at Shipman & Goodwin. While there are components of the job that can be done remotely, having an "anchor point" is important for the development of a firm's culture, she said. "We think it's important to have some sort of an anchor, if only to be the backbone for our culture and the connectivity that we think is important," she said. Focus on technology The hybrid approach is not HBJ FILE PHOTO Hartford intellectual property law firm Cantor Colburn LLP's co-managing partners Phil Colburn and Michael Cantor. Cantor says his firm is planning to reduce its office footprint.

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