Litigation Firm Gives Up Office Lease And Doesn’t Look Back
Welcome to the second profile in our series of success stories from law firms that have chosen Amata Law Office Suites to house their practice’s operations. Covering only eight of the more than 800 law firms that have leveraged our services in Chicago, Illinois, each month we’ll feature the successes of a few firms and how they’ve used Amata to their advantage.
Can office solutions save lives? Maybe not. But at Amata, we’ve certainly seen ours make others’ easier. Case in point this story about a Chicago-area litigation firm that started with us in 2021. Their journey from suppressed potential to unbound growth is just one example of the real-life impact that the right office space provider can have.
Starting With the Basics
Founded in 1997, this practice was a revered name in Chicago’s insurance, real estate and commercial litigation scene long before it started working with Amata. It had grown steadily over the years, finding success through several high-profile cases while expanding its operations not only throughout Illinois, but also Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. The HQ team back in Chicago worked out of the same office space for 13 years before their lease went into limbo in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this time, the firm – like everyone else – had been forced to take an unconventional approach to business as usual. The three principal partners, six lawyers and additional staff members on the team rarely visited the office space they had and were instead handling most matters remotely.
Taking a New Approach to Work
Of course prior to the pandemic, there wouldn’t have been a question about whether this type of “old school”, self-managed arrangement was the smartest move to make. For many, it was the only way. Business owners had come to accept the sky-high costs of maintaining exclusive office space and assumed it was unavoidable. But remote work changed things overnight to quickly reveal just how much more can be done with less.
In the latter half of 2021, Amata’s team received a call from one of the firm’s partners with questions about how managed virtual offices work. They were particularly interested in phone services, call forwarding and automated receptionist features. These options had the potential to provide all of the advantages of a brick-and-mortar office – reliable customer service and confidential lines for client calls – without actually having an in-house physical presence.
While devastating in other respects, the pandemic presented this firm the opportunity to try out a new approach, and in doing so, reduce its fixed expenses, risk, and partner liability on a short-term basis.
Reaping the Benefits of a Smarter Approach
Within days of signing onto an agreement with Amata, this once-taxed litigation firm was able to drop its monthly expenses of over $21,000/month (including a full-time receptionist) to about $550/month. For context, that’s less than a third of the average rent price for an apartment in Chicago. But they were getting so much more value – not only professionally maintained and managed office space, but also receptionist services and freedom from constraining lease arrangements.
While Amata’s services had initially been sought out in response to the pandemic, the litigation firm moved to transform its partnership into a long-term endeavor. Decision makers found that staff were just as productive in their new flex arrangement and that the cost-savings of adopting it permanently could only pay dividends. This proved true later on in 2022, when the practice added two more associates to its team. They took two additional offices with Amata so that these new partners could work with existing associates in person two to four days each week. Beyond that, no other physical space has been needed to maintain the firm’s productivity and broader operations. Flexible solutions from Amata allow them to drastically increase their monthly cost-savings for reinvestment in company growth.
How Amata’s Solutions Tailor to the Needs of Individual Law Firms
The law firm we’re discussing today is no different from others in Chicago in the sense that it had a problem with operational inefficiency that needed to be tackled. But at the same time, none in the city are identical. Each and every practice has its own story and areas of expertise. Factors like team size, client base, and funding all play into how any given law firm operates. Enhancing efficiency requires case-specific support, and that’s exactly what Amata provides.
Amata gives law firms everything they need – and nothing they don’t. We want to equip your practice to succeed in today’s changing yet competitive landscape. Our innovative services are specifically designed for budding ventures that need a cost-effective way of delivering value to their clients.
We provide a range of solutions, from phone answering and virtual office management to document filing and legal research. As-needed office space is also available so that you can scale up or down as needed. Amata frees up your time, resources, and staff so they can focus on doing what they do best – winning cases. Inquire today!