It’s no secret that the legal industry is slow to change. Lawyers have billed clients by the hour since the concept was first introduced in 1958. Long working hours and lavish office space have been industry standards for decades. And since updating laws and the legal system can be a yearslong process, it’s fitting that the business of law changes at a similar pace.
But quality office space, in particular, is often necessary for attorneys.
“The whole thing with lawyers, unfortunately, is how people look at us,” said attorney Mary Fahey of Fahey & Associates.
Cost-effective office options have been available since the 1980s, but they’re not always appropriate for attorneys’ needs. If lawyers have shabby offices, she said clients will also view their counsel as subpar.
In 2010, Fahey had three offices across the city, but juggling appointments at all locations culminated in a hectic schedule. When she decided to consolidate to a single office, she wanted to make the best move for her practice. Overhead costs and other expenses were “top of mind” for Fahey, a former accountant, but the space also needed to be visually appealing.
“When you start your own business, you wear all these hats,” she said. “One hat that I had to wear was marketing my firm.”
A Stable Space for Your Law Firm Needs to Be Adaptive
Marketing is especially important when choosing a new office, and one Chicago provider answered all of Fahey’s needs. Amata Law Office Suites — already a decade old and simply called Amata back then — offered scalable, affordable shared workspaces in the downtown area and began growing a dedicated following among Chicago lawyers. Fahey joined the community of now 700-plus attorneys in 2011 and has stayed ever since.
Fellow attorney John S. Kendall of the Law Office of John S. Kendall, P.C., joined Amata in 2004 and says Amata has been a good partner for his intellectual property firm over the past 16 years. Since Kendall frequently travels to visit clients, he’s pleased with how Amata’s “courteous and professional” staff keeps him up to speed, even when he’s out of the country.
“One of the things I appreciate is they’re technologically current in terms of providing the tools to help someone like me,” he said.
Chelsey Robinson of Owens & Robinson has watched Amata’s changes since she joined the community in 2005. She enjoys the services that Amata has added over the years, such as live receptionists and an experienced legal support team, to better support its attorney clientele.
“They help me get more work done,” Robinson said. “They help me take on more clients and grow more efficiently.”
Fahey, Robinson and Kendall represent Amata’s longest tenured clients, but they aren’t alone. At least a dozen private practice firms have operated and grown their firms out of Amata for more than a decade. Even more have called Amata home for nearly 10 years. For these attorneys, choosing stable office space is key to their success.
That’s because relocating a law firm is no easy task. Various entities must be notified, including current and former clients; local courts; state and local bar associations; insurance companies; and financial institutions to prevent service disruptions. The extra work also takes attorneys away from their cases. Finding a stable place is more than comfort. It’s a good business decision.
“If you have the nicest space, a great, affordable location and great people that are servicing your needs, why go elsewhere?” Fahey said.
The best part? She eliminated the work of managing bills and taxes across multiple Chicago offices.
“That’s when I truly started enjoying practicing law,” she said.
Want success and longevity for your law firm? Consider joining the Amata community. Call us or visit our website and take an online or in-person tour of one of our six Class-A law firm office spaces. Amata runs the office so you can focus on running your practice.