Law firms are office landlords' new BFFs

In good times or hard times, lawyers always win.Revenues at the top 100 firms rose to $131 billion in 2022, the most recent year available, from $7 billion in 1986, a 19-fold increase, according to American Lawyer. Profit margins never fell below 35% in even the worst years and hit a record 45% in 2021. For comparison’s sake, Apple’s operating margin last year was 34%.Now lawyers are winning the office-space game, too: Law firms are historically reliable but not exactly sexy as office tenants, especially compared to the flashier and pricy deals in recent years signed by tech and finance companies. But several of the biggest deals over the last year involve law firms, and with Manhattan office landlords scrambling for tenants, members of the bar are enjoying their unlikely new status as belles of the ball.“It’s nice that the Knicks are good again because brokers are inviting me to all the games,” said one partner in charge of his firm’s real estate needs.Law firms typically don’t pay top-dollar rents, or seek out penthouse space, but they soak up space in the middle or lower floors of buildings, helping landlords balance their books. At 55 Hudson Yards, a 51-story tower, the top three floors are leased by hedge fund Third Point at $137 a square foot, according to KBRA data. Below that comes private equity firm Silver Lake, paying $111 per square foot under a lease inked in 2017. Next comes the law firm Milbank Tweed, which signed a lease in 2016 and pays $90 a square foot... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'

[ Crains New York | 2024-03-21 10:03:05 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Law firms are office landlords' new BFFs"


Do Advertisers Have Any Use for Blog Networks?

As the digital ad market races toward programmatic and native, do advertisers have any use for blog networks like Glam Media and Say Media? Once, such networks were seen as an innovative way to pinpoint thousands of tiny blogs on the Web and roll them up for advertisers. But now, with... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this