Virtual Office

Virtual law office spaces are becoming the ideal choice for many legal practitioners in the 21^st century. A virtual office enables attorneys across a variety of practice areas to gain access to crucial support services and essential technology letting them work from anywhere while providing office necessities like manned reception, legal admin staff, a business address, and more.

These spaces are affordable and provide flexible lease terms to suit your unique legal needs. The best part? When you go virtual, commuting to the office is no longer mandatory.

With a multitude of benefits, virtual office space is ideal for solo and partner practice law firms. In this blog post, we’ll focus on the top four benefits that every law firm can realize from virtual law office space.

What is a virtual law office?

Unlike a standard office, a virtual office only requires that you pay for the services you use, versus services and space. Virtual office space resources and benefits vary depending on the subscription package a lawyer takes, but will normally provide ready access to it’s the office address, meeting space and day office space to receive clients and work, live receptionists, and a range of administrative services.

In some states, lawyers can practice law only when they give a corporate address of their business. A virtual office fulfills this recommendation without adding the same overhead of standard space. Virtual law offices can give lawyers a corporate address where their mail will be sent, handled, scanned, and even forwarded on to a home address. The team will collect it and pass it on to you as requested. Day-offices and meeting rooms can be rented out as needed, and you are free to work from any common space.

The law office of the past depended on dedicated spaces to provide an air of legacy and stability, at an astounding cost to legal firms. Moving towards the future, clients care more about flexibility and results than image. For solo practice law firms and partner practice law firms, the costs of renting out this space has proven an enormous hurdle – virtual office space erases these unnecessary expenditures.

The advantages of moving to virtual office space

Office Space Without the Commitment

Virtual office spaces can benefit any type of law firm or attorney, particularly those whose time rarely involves staying in one place.

For instance, a family law attorney usually spends the lion’s share of their time in meetings out of the office or in court. Yet having access to an office space in a central area offers a place to reconvene and work from. With the help of a virtual law office provider, it’s possible to rent space as needed, while side-stepping the commitment and expense of a conventional office lease.

Big Firm Benefits for Private & Boutique Legal Practices

Virtual law offices offer more than simply a place to work. At Amata, we offer a suite of services designed specifically around legal practices, such as on-site paralegals and notaries. Our legal live receptionists vet incoming calls even after normal business hours, optimizing your client intake.

As a law office designed specifically for attorneys, you will have access to our attorney referral network and legal industry events and partnerships. Conference rooms and both furnished and unfurnished office spaces are available for convenience, and can be utilized as-needed.

Easy Expansion

Virtual office space enables law firms to expand operations by opening new office spaces outside of their normal base of operations. Many leading law firms follow this strategy by having no central office space, while employing hundreds of lawyers across the country. Law firms that expand with the help of virtual office space can boost their revenue because there’s no fixed rental fee that they have to shell out monthly.

Work Flexibility

Lawyers who sign up for virtual office space can work anytime, anywhere without being confined between the four walls of a conventional office. They may decide on working from home for any number of days without having the pressure to use the office space for matching up the payment. In an increasingly digital work environment spurred by COVID-19, this can prove an immense boon.

Unlike traditional office space, virtual workspace is based on a pay-as-you-go model. That means attorneys pay a small fee to subscribe to virtual space and manage their day without the pressure of going to an office. Even better, lawyers can move their practice to any location without having to worry about lease contracts that come with traditional offices. Securing a new virtual office in a new location will also be less stressful as it’s easily available.

Virtual Law Offices at Amata Law Office Suites

Being the only shared office space provider catering to law firms and legal practitioners in Chicago, Amata Law Office Suites offers virtual law office programs. Our private office space comes with services and amenities required for supporting attorneys.

We give attorneys in Chicago seven premium spaces to choose from across the entire downtown loop. Additionally, we offer furnished and unfurnished offices; scalable lease terms; office necessities such as water, coffee, and printer; and on-site admins, notaries, and paralegals.

With our shared office space, you’ll easily establish your Chicago practice and keep it running smoothly without worrying about dedicated office space’s maintenance. Schedule a tour of your next virtual law office with us and become part of a growing community of over 700 attorneys. Visit our website today for more details.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

As a leader in multiple industries, from health care and technology to food manufacturing and transportation, Chicago is known for its diverse economy. It also offers a robust yet “close-knit” legal community. All of these factors make the third largest U.S. city a top choice for law firms of all sizes to open a satellite office and build prospective clients. In fact, four of the world’s 10 largest law firms have Chicago branches.

But starting a firm in a new city is no easy task. According to commercial real estate company SquareFoot, the average cost for office space in downtown Chicago is $48 per square foot, while Law.com says firms typically allocate 300-400 square feet per employee. That means space for one attorney in a satellite office would cost no less than $14,000. There are plenty of other costs to consider as well, such as additional computers and insurance.

Earlier this year, Veteran Legal Group, a California-based firm representing armed service members and their families, wanted to expand. The firm needed an attorney to take on an influx of veteran disability claims and recruited Chicago-based attorney Edward Farmer, who has specialized in veteran disability law for the past 10 years.

“Chicago is a big-size market,” Farmer said about the Windy City’s appeal to Veteran Legal Group, adding that the city lacks stiff competition in veteran disability law. “There aren’t many attorneys who do what I do.”

Farmer has built his Chicago presence through Amata Law Office Suites, the city’s first legal community of more than 700 attorneys and seven Class-A offices in downtown Chicago. When Veteran Legal Group began searching for Chicago office space, Farmer steered the team toward Amata, where he operated a solo practice from 2017-2020.

“What you get for the price is much better than setting up an office from scratch,” he said. “You have the support of the staff … If I was here by myself, my workload would be five times as much.”

In less than two weeks, Farmer had his office arranged and started practicing with his new firm. In addition to a furnished office, he has access to Amata’s experienced paralegal team, live receptionists, copy machines and WiFi, all of which are necessary for communicating with his out-of-state team.

Amata also provides a built-in community of 700-plus legal colleagues, a support system that can be lacking for attorneys working out of satellite offices. Farmer is currently the only Veteran Legal Group lawyer in Chicago and therefore has little in-person interaction with coworkers. But he credits Amata for his relationship with Jim Thompson, a now-retired personal injury attorney, who informally mentored him while Farmer was starting his previous practice. They are still friends today.

As Veteran Legal Group continues to grow, Farmer expects another attorney to join him at the Chicago branch. When the time comes, he said the firm will simply need to lease another office. Amata will take care of the rest and allow them to focus on hiring the right attorney.

“It’s a great place for lawyers to work,” Farmer said. “I really believe that, especially if you’re in a private practice.”

Marc J. Bern & Partners LLP, a New York-based firm specializing in personal injury law, medical malpractice and more, also has a Chicago satellite office through Amata.

Call us or visit our website and take an online or in-person tour of one of our seven Class-A spaces to learn how our legal support services can help quickly set up your satellite office and establish your Chicago presence.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

According to a recent Cushman & Wakefield survey, roughly two-thirds of law firms polled spent 4-7% of gross revenue on real estate last year. While firms have been downsizing, some still spend millions of dollars on physical offices.

This year, however, the practice of law has greatly shifted with many lawyers utilizing virtual offices, live reception services and on-demand legal support in place of the traditional office setup. In fact, plenty of firms are looking to short-term extensions instead of long-term contracts, as the ups and downs in 2020 have caused many firms to seek flexibility in their future overhead costs.

Richard Gurak, a founding partner of Advitam IP, LLC, a U.S.-based but globally-focused intellectual property law firm that regularly receives referrals from roughly 30-plus different countries, says fancy office space is secondary to great counsel.

In 2012, after he and his business partner Michele Katz left their former AmLaw 100 firm, Husch Blackwell, to launch Advitam IP, they knew office space would be one of their top costs. They sought space in downtown Chicago with little overhead for which clients would be billed, a decision that dually allowed them to put more resources toward quality talent with many years of IP experience. They eventually outgrew their first location, moved to Amata Law Office Suites, a community of more than 700 attorneys and seven Class-A offices in downtown Chicago, and have since grown their firm to 15 attorneys and staff.

“Amata’s office … is perfect for us,” Gurak said. “Not only for the location, but for the professional atmosphere that it provides us as well as multi-layers of staff and legal support services. … They absolutely tailor their services specifically to attorneys.”

Gurak prefers to spend time identifying experienced and dedicated lawyers to bring onto his team. He believes most clients value experienced attorneys’ services and people skills more than their physical office. He particularly thinks respect, organization and attention to detail are important, as these qualities often convey how attorneys represent their clients.

With Amata’s Class-A downtown office space, remote working technology, live receptionists, experienced paralegal team and community of more than 700 attorneys, he says Amata helps them raise the bar. He thinks his small but highly capable team is on par with big firms’ capabilities. In fact, they can adapt to important business changes in 24 hours or less, which could be a month-long process at a large firm.

“Amata is very fertile ground to plant those attorney-to-attorney relationship seeds to establish a strong referral network,” he said. “They are constantly striving to make themselves better. We plan on being here for quite a while.”

Call us or visit our website and take an online or in-person tour of one of our seven downtown Class-A spaces to learn how our legal support services can help you successfully grow your law practice.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Law firms and their cultures began to change long before COVID-19 hit. The pandemic has only accelerated the shift.

Many factors including, but certainly not limited to, changing norms, technology, mergers, increased focus on profits, the retirement of senior partners and the rise of non-equity partnerships have irrevocably transformed the old model. “The traditional law firm took care of its attorneys,” said Jacalyn Birnbaum, of the Chicago-area family law firm Birnbaum Haddon Gelfman & Arnoux, LLC. “There’s no daddy looking after anyone now.”

Birnbaum believes today’s lawyers need a work environment that allows them to be independent yet supported by a team that can handle the many administrative burdens of running a practice. In 2011, upon the break-up of their old law firm, Birnbaum and her current partners didn’t realize such a combination was possible.

Until on a Friday morning in late May of 2011, when Jackie serendipitously visited the new Amata office of a childhood friend who had just relocated her law practice to the 37^th Floor of 180 North LaSalle Street – one of Amata’s seven attorney focused Chicagoland  communities.

“Amata was the perfect, turn-key solution.” Indeed, by the following Thursday, Jackie and her partners had made all necessary arrangements. BHGA, LLC was up and running as of August 1, 2011. It’s still growing.

With Amata responsible for administrative tasks – including managing reception and other shared areas, working with building management, and now, implementing COVID-19 safety measures – Birnbaum feels liberated. She finds the Amata environment has more in common with a business incubator than with typical leased office space.  “Amata lets you breathe so you can focus on the practice of law,” she said.

That breathing room fosters civility and openness. Amata lawyers get to know each other organically, connections are made, and a sense of community takes root. Birnbaum said she and other lawyers on her floor routinely interact and often form close friendships. Moreover, each Amata community includes attorneys in varied areas of practice and easy access to their special expertise, she says, is welcome and helpful.

For many lawyers, the need for a community of peers has been heightened in recent months: meetings and court appearances have gone virtual; law firms have responded to COVID-19 with layoffs, pay cuts, and other cost-cutting measures. In this uncertain climate, lawyers are seeking new ways to build and grow sophisticated practices.

As the legal landscape continues to evolve, Birnbaum recognizes and appreciates the value of the Amata community. “With law firms facing current economic realities, Amata came upon a business model that is perfectly attuned to these times.”

Call us today to learn how our virtual offices can help you successfully go solo with your law practice.

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1. The Future of the Large Law Firm: Growth, Mergers and Inequality: https://clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2020/01/06/the-future-of-the-large-law-firm-growth-mergers-and-inequality/

2. Being a Law Firm Partner Was Once a Job for Life. That Culture is All but Dead: https://www.wsj.com/articles/being-a-law-firm-partner-was-once-a-job-for-life-that-culture-is-all-but-dead-11565362437

Discover our offices for lawyers in Chicago.

Moving from working out of your your house into a private office space? Expanding into a new location in a new state? We have tips and advice for all types of moves. It’s an exciting time, and if you’ve given your choices proper consideration, it doesn’t have to be stressful.

Your First Office: “I work remotely and want to move into private office space. How do I pick the best space?”

You’re taking a big step, both for your practice and for your bank account. Make sure you properly vet any space you are looking at to ensure it satisfies your growing firm’s growing needs and doesn’t become unaffordable overhead.

We recommend asking the following questions of your potential landlord or space provider:

• What’s the shortest lease term I’m able to sign?
• What happens if I need to scale up during my lease term? Or scale down?
• What amenities are included in my base rent and what ones are add-ons that I need to pay each month (like water, heat, office equipment, etc.)?
• What are the benefits to being at your space? And can you think of any negatives?

We especially want you to ask that last question – there are negatives to ANY arrangement, and having a landlord or space provider who is honest and upfront with you means you’re getting into business with someone you can trust.

Your New Office: “The attorney I sublease from isn’t renewing their lease. What do I do next?”

Many attorneys sublease space from other attorneys – who are effectively trying to be both landlords and law firm owners. It’s no surprise then, that so many find themselves suddenly kicked out of their space when the attorneys they sublease from decide to give up the dual roles and not renew their leases.

If this is your situation, you’re probably stressed out, and potentially a little angry. You want to make sure your next situation is stable, and you probably discovered a few options:

1. You can sublease again
2. You even take on the dual role yourself and lease a large floor
3. You can take an office with a shared office space provider

Before you make a choice ask yourself: “What do I really need to practice law successfully.”

If this move isn’t really that cumbersome, and isn’t interfering with your day-to-day business, then go with option one. Just keep in mind that you may need to move again sooner than you expect, and that your options may be more limited so price and location shopping will be difficult.

If you loved your traditional space and like the idea of having a small floor of other attorneys in a community you hand crafted, then go with option two. Make sure you speak with other attorneys who have done so first, though. Otherwise you may find yourself stressed and overworked (and not with legal work).

If this move is causing stress, and you want both stability and the ability to shop around for the best price and best location, then a shared office space is your best bet. Additionally, you’ll get the same benefits as option two – a community of attorneys – if you choose a boutique shared office space provider who specializes in supporting law firms. Check if your area provides one!

Your New Beginning: “I’m opening my firm in a new state. Any advice?”

Congratulations on your success! Aside from the legal business of becoming an attorney in a new state, you’ve got a new market you’re trying to enter. Many of our own attorney clients find success by first setting themselves up to work remotely. Most often they purchase a Virtual Law Office program which gives them a local address on one of our floors, a local phone number for their firm, as well as access to all of our locations and our conference rooms for meetings. This saves them the overhead of renting private office space until they are more established in their new city, while giving them all the amenities they need to run their practice in the new location.

The added benefit of opening a Virtual Law Office is that when they do make the move into physical, private space, they are able to maintain their address by simply upgrading from their Virtual Law Office into private office space. Need more information on how this works? Visit our Virtual Law Office page!

Additional Resources for moving your law firm:

• A fantastic checklist created by The Michigan Bar Association
• “Thinking About Moving Your Firm? 3 Things to Consider First”
• “Can You Relocate Without Taking a New Bar Exam?”

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

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.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Virtual offices are sweeping the nation, and if you’re thinking of transitioning from brick-and-mortar into a virtual law firm your options are expanding.

Whether your leaving your current firm and going solo, or you are looking to decrease the cost of office rent, a new sector of virtual law firm providers is popping up to help: boutique office spaces that cater to attorneys, and attorneys alone.

Finding a good provider is the most important part of going virtual. Below we break down the 3 steps you should take before committing to any virtual office.

STEP 1: Take a tour!

Make sure you tour the office space before you sign up for services! You may be having meetings downtown and you want a space that is beautiful, has plenty of meeting room options, and friendly staff on hand.

Here’s an easy checklist for you while you tour:

☐ No logos (you want it to feel like your space)

☐ A few meeting room sizes

☐ Professional & welcoming entryway

☐ Comfortable common space

☐ Kitchenette/Cafe for you and for guests

☐ Bonus points for natural light in common areas & gorgeous views

Luckily plenty of companies have virtual tours of their space online, so you can complete this step asap.

STEP 2: Ask yourself “Will I be virtual permanently?”

Are you scaling down as a last step towards retirement? Or are you going virtual to launch your solo practice? If you may need office space in the future  make sure the provider’s offices and contracts fit your requirements.

Ask for a pricing break down on physical space and let them know you may go permanent in a year – if they are straight forward they will provide all the information you want without deflecting. And if they deflect their contracts are most likely convoluted, and you should move on in your search.

STEP 3: Interrogate your potential office space providers

The business of law demands flexibility and extensive support options. Make a list of all the needs for your law firm, and when you tour locations ask if the office provider can help support these needs.

A good provider will have paralegal support, admin support, front-desk personnel and reception services. But they may also have partners that can help with your billing/collections and court reporting. It can’t hurt to ask, and you may be surprised by the services provided.

Benefits of opening your virtual law firm with a boutique, attorney-centric office space provider

You already know the benefits of going virtual, that’s why you’re reading this article. Scaling down overhead costs. Achieving a great work/life balance. But you can receive even more benefits as a virtual law firm if you select the right office space provider.

• Legal office staff downtown (even though you aren’t): everything from law clerks to paralegals to court filings without having to hire any personnel personally
• Attorney peers you can connect with online: networking is a vital part of any firm’s new business generation, and many providers have online community sites to help this
• Events for legal education & networking: all providers host events, and ‘bring your dog to work day’ or ‘group yoga’ sound fun but you don’t want to rearrange your schedule for these activities. A complimentary CLE webinar, on the other hand, is appealing, and helpful for you and your practice.

Want to read thoughts from attorneys running virtual law firms (and loving it!) before you start these steps? The American Bar Association interviewed 5 law firm leaders for their insight on being virtual attorneys.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

Small businesses are having a great couple of years, and they are continuing to be optimistic towards the future. If you’re one of the many experiencing growth in your business, and evaluating office space, don’t go straight to the realtor’s office. Instead embrace the varied options available thanks to continued demand for flexible, cost-efficient space for small businesses.

Overhead for Permanent Offices is Shrinking in Shared Office Facilities

Looking for a brick-and-mortar location to house your business or team? There’s a better way than leasing large amounts of space at exorbitant costs and taking on all the property management responsibilities that come with it.

Now, you can enjoy private office space for your company at a much lower cost by sharing the community areas like reception, cafes and lounges. You’ll save on monthly expenses in not only your physical space but also in your staffing requirements as you’re able to take advantage of professional front-end staff members of the facility your company is located within.

Day Office Rentals Allow More Freedom

Many business owners simply need a place to meet, on occasion, with their clients. Either they work primarily from home, have a job that requires extensive travelling, or spend all day running around the city from meeting to meeting. If this describes you, day office rentals are a great option to keep costs down, while giving you a spot to work when you do need it.

Shared office providers offer everything from full private offices to rentable desks for the day. Whether you prefer the confidentiality of a classic office, or work best in a bubbling open coworking space, there is an option out there for you. And if your needs change you will find shared office providers allow an easy transition from this on-the-go virtual working into a more permanent space.

Business Addresses: When the Only Office You Need is at Home

Your business is just starting, you may even be working a different part-time job right now, and you have no need for meeting space or even a receptionist to answer your calls – not yet at least. What you need is a business address. An address that, when looked up by prospective clients or partners, does not return as a residential location.

Having a professional business address for your business is the ultimate way to say “I’m successful” without taking on the overhead costs of real office space. Not only will you enjoy the privacy of not giving out your home address, but you can take advantage of mail handling services – such as scanning and forwarding — that make it a breeze to still receive all your incoming correspondence in a timely manner. Like the options listed above, you can find business addresses and mail services at your local shared office space provider.

Interested in working virtually? 5 things you should know first.

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Updated: 2/27/18

“I am breaking away from my big law firm to practice law my own way. But a permanent office is not in my budget.”

“As a solo practicing attorney, I only want to commute to the city when necessary.”

“My family is important and I need to spend more time at home without giving up my practice or taking time off.”

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

Amata Law Offices can provide the solutions you need.

Yes, this is blatant self-promotion for Amata Law Office Suites, but only because we have over two decades of experience working for our attorney clients who in turn have helped us shape our company to better support them.

Providing Chicago Attorneys with Options

Self-promotion aside, I want to start this article by pointing out that the most important aspect of our centers is actually a concept built directly into the structure of all shared office space, ours and our competitor’s alike, and that’s the ability to give attorneys options.

So many options, in fact, that we need to narrow down the conversation just to explain how flexible a shared office space truly is.

Flexibility of Telecommuting

Let’s start where most small practices do and talk, not about renting space, but about telecommuting.

When you break telecommuting down, you have two immediate pros: The days you don’t commute to the office will save you time and money, and when you do commute you have options.

Pros of Telecommuting for Attorneys

Like all choices you make for your business, telecommuting has its pros and cons, but the biggest pro is the amount of choices it provides to burgeoning and established practices alike.

Access to Multiple Locations

Through all of our programs, for instance, our clients have access to every Amata center to work, receptionist services, and to meet with clients and partners, no matter which center they decide is their firm’s mailing address.

Convenience When You Commute

If you are coming into the city solely for a deposition, book a conference room at our 150 South Wacker office, a mere twenty feet from Union Station.

Spending the morning at court but need a small room to meet with a client in the afternoon? We have two locations a block from the Daley Center.

And when the kids have a day off school all of Amata’s offices can provide you a quiet cafe or solitary day office to work in.

Eliminating the Cons of Telecommuting for Attorneys

On the con side, bouncing ideas off fellow attorneys is part of the fun of a law firm practice, and if you are leaving a bigger firm to start your own you may find you miss that daily interaction.

A Large Group of Attorneys To Interact With

For the tenants at our 180 North LaSalle office one of the highlights is ending the day catching up with attorneys over a glass of wine in the Cognac room; brilliant attorney and masterful storyteller, Paul Goodman, makes me laugh every time we grab a drink. Not all clients are able to join in such impromptu weekly rituals and for telecommuting clients this is especially so.

Exclusive Attorney Networking Events

To combat this, we work to create opportunities for all our lawyers to have the community experience by organizing dozens of events throughout the year, from casual attorney socials after work to grander scale river cruises, and we have even gone so far as to build an online community that allows attorneys to network no matter where they choose to be. Whether they prefer working at home in the Chicago suburbs, or even at home in a completely different state.

Telecommuting Options for Locals and Non-Locals Alike

Yes, you read that correctly. Telecommuting is not just an option for new or small law firms. When you have put your years in and finally decide to pursue that isolated cabin in the woods, telecommuting allows you to continue doing the work you love.

A few years ago, one of my best friends moved just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, yet he still maintains his successful law practice in Chicago, which boasts three attorneys and two support staff. He choose to commute 2-3 days each week and spend the rest of the days working at home in Tennessee.

He retained the physical space he needed for its Chicago employees, as well as the shared office space’s built-in manager who deals with all the nitty gritty: the phone system, the copier, office supplies and shredder and any issues that may come up with them all.

But now when the receptionist processes his calls, his clients are transferred to his cellphone even while his coworkers still maintain their physical phones, and we forward and scan his mail wherever he needs, at his request.

Make Telecommuting Work For You

Telecommuting is just one, small example of how Amata Law Office Suites can work for you and your firm. Speaking from many years of experience as a shared office space provider, I can offer a few tips:

As you begin your search you will find that people and writers like to argue about the layout of shared office space — open vs. closed.

As Jacob Morgan points out in his article Five Things You Need To Know About Telecommuting, the debates are absolutely pointless. I will reiterate the fact I opened this article up with: all shared office spaces are built to provide options, it’s implicit in its design.

What you really need to pay attention to when searching for your perfect space are the details.

Does the office atmosphere boost your company image when clients come to visit?

What if your firm were to grow so big taking traditional space was more affordable; would you be able to take your established phone number with you when you leave?

These are questions you must ask before signing any contract.

But if you are just starting out, and haven’t even thought about the details of a contract yet, I have one simple tip: pay attention to who the shared office space chooses as their partners.

If they aren’t partnering with business that are meant to help you and your firm grow, then maybe you should keep looking.

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Ron Bockstahler is the CEO of Amata Holdings, LLC and managing broker for Amata Realty Group. His companies have served the legal community for over 30 years and Ron regularly consults with attorneys on business development and space needs. You can contact Ron at [email protected] or call him at (312) 924-0204.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

For any business, large or small, the customer is everything. This is true for Amata, too. So we know it’s important to show our customers – or in our case, our shared office tenants – how much we appreciate their business in creative and valuable ways.

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