Shared legal office space isn’t just for new solo attorneys. We have law firms of all sizes here at Amata. Why? Because flexible space is good for every firm, at every stage.

Having an office space that gives your firm options for expansion as well as shrinkage means:

• Less resources (both money and time) spent on moving
• Consistency for you and your clientele
• Staying cost-effective, no matter what happens

Many attorneys who sign up for traditional law office space find themselves losing profit to pay for space they aren’t using. For instance, if an attorney or employee leaves their firm, they suddenly have an unoccupied office they are paying for. Or if they are looking for offices downtown for three partners and a secretary, their only options may be large build-outs with six offices (two more than they need). Other law office solutions exist, however.

Here a few examples of established attorneys who choose alternative law firm office options, and how that choice helps their firms.

The Defectors

A new CEO, a merger; they change the corporate structure of firms. A couple of attorneys frequently get together in these times and decide to break away to start their own practices.

How shared legal office space providers help

Defecting attorneys need discretion, and they need to set up shop quickly. By going with a shared office space for attorneys or a legal coworking space, they can keep things discrete, because they won’t need to post ads to hire staff or run around the city looking for space or furniture. A shared office provider presents itself as a “pop-up” law firm option: the defecting attorneys can create their PC or LLC, rent the few offices they need (which come fully furnished), get a new phone number for their firm through the shared office space (who set everything up with the phone company), and they’ll have a receptionist who is answering their calls the moment their number is active.

All the attorneys have to do is give notice and show up in their new space! Should they decide to hire more staff and add more offices – or customize their office with their own furniture – they can do so later on without issue.

The Established Attorney in a New State

Making a leap and branching out into a new state can be scary; if going the traditional route, it becomes all the more frightening.

How shared legal office space providers help

Like a defector, the ease of setup gives this attorney less to worry about. A smart attorney branching into a new state will also want to keep over-head costs as low as possible while building up their client base. Starting their firm out with a Virtual Law Office – which includes access to a shared law office space floor’s common space to work from, conference rooms to meet clients at, a business address on the floor for receiving mail, a phone number with their new city’s area code, and access to the shared law office space staff – allows them to have a professional presence in the new city, without the high overhead cost of traditional office space.

Virtual legal office programs allow the attorney to telecommute until their firm is established enough in the new city to hire a permanent associate at that location, and upgrade to a dedicated private office space on the floor!

The Satellite Firm

For successful large firms, overhead may not be as large of a concern. Putting associates in an environment where they can meet other professionals and establish themselves in the community, however, may be.

How shared legal office space providers help

A shared office space for attorneys is a giant floor filled with a medley of attorneys from firms as small as one to as large as fifty! With all these attorneys in one space, making connections is as easy as making a cup of coffee. If associates are new to a city, having this built-in network can help them find a group of peers to integrate with, network within, and assist in building the firm’s referral network in the new city. A more holistic benefit is their well-being. Associates and partners who are able to work from a shared law office space will have a higher ability to find like-minded individuals who aren’t colleagues; new people to have lunch with or go to happy hours with after a long day.

Feeling part of a community is an undeniable wellness benefit, and hard to ignore in an industry plagued with stress and mental illness.