3 Reasons Why A Grand Central Shared Law Office Space is a Great Choice for Solo Attorneys
What is shared law office space?
Shared law office space is a fully equipped and move-in ready office environment that provides solo attorneys and small law firms a real estate option other than working from their home or signing a direct to landlord lease.
What is a workstation?
A workstation, sometimes referred to as a “cubicle” is a semi-private office space located within a shared law office. Depending on the executive office provider, a workstation can range in size from 25 square feet to 64 square feet. Generally, they come fully furnished with a desk and office chair.
What benefits does renting a workstation provide a solo attorney?
1. Affordability.
Workstations are often the most affordable shared law office space options for a solo attorney because they are smaller in size than most other offices. Workstations prices range from $500.00 a month to $1695.00 a month, depending on the actual size of the workspace and the location of the executive office center. As you would expect, monthly office prices are generally higher in urban centers, such as New York City, Washington D.C, and Boston than in suburban markets.
Workstations are extremely popular with new solo attorneys because they offer much less overhead than a traditional office rental.
This is important because of the uncertainty associated with starting a new law practice, especially about where to get clients to actually pay the office rent. Some executive office providers even offer a gradual rent increase over the contract term to minimize the amount of office rent a new attorney is responsible for during the critical first few months of solo practice.
2. Collaboration.
Lawyers in certain practice disciplines often need the advice of other attorneys in complementary practice disciplines to fully and competently service client matters.
For example, in a B-to-C practice such as immigration, attorneys often have practice area questions that arise involving other consumer based areas of the law, such as family law, criminal defense and employment. Immigration attorneys often have immigration based questions, as the practice is extremely specialized.
In shared office space, the immigration attorney can ask colleagues to sit-in on meetings or co-counsel on practice areas they are unfamiliar with. Shared office space aids in providing more competent client representation and gives the illusion that the immigration attorney is much larger than a one-man army.
3. Referral Possibilities.
Collaborative work environments, like those often found in shared law office spaces, lead directly to referral opportunities. The referrals exchanged among attorneys in a shared law office subsidize, if not entirely pay for, the monthly cost of the shared law office workstation.
In effect, lawyers who choose a shared office space transform their monthly rent from a fixed expense to a potential profit center. This adds significant economic value to the firm’s bottom line.
The most important part of sharing office space with other attorneys is finding the practice area mix. For example, while a personal injury attorney can certainly co-exist with a bunch of tax or patent lawyers, the better fit from a business development perspective would be a suite with immigration, workers’ comp and matrimonial attorneys.
If a shared office space only has a limited number of offices, an attorney would want to make sure the some of the other attorneys practice in complementary areas of the law that will have the most potential for referral exchange. Being selective about practice niches is less of a concern in larger shared law office suite with many attorneys from diverse practice areas. For example, in a shared office space like Law Firm Suites, where over 125 attorneys in different practice areas share space, there will always be an opportunity to build a referral connection.
Learn more on how to maximize referrals in a shared office space.
Get our eBook: “How to Convert Office Rent into Referral Revenue”
