{"id":142542,"date":"2026-01-23T17:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T01:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/01\/23\/biglaws-return-to-office-push-is-showing-up-in-law-firm-real-estate-deals\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:22:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T01:22:58","slug":"biglaws-return-to-office-push-is-showing-up-in-law-firm-real-estate-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/01\/23\/biglaws-return-to-office-push-is-showing-up-in-law-firm-real-estate-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Biglaw\u2019s Return-To-Office Push Is Showing Up In Law Firm Real Estate Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biglaw isn\u2019t just talking about getting lawyers back to the office \u2014 firms are leasing space like they mean it.<\/p>\n

Law firms took nearly 800,000 square feet of New York City office space in Q4 2025, according to data provided to Law.com<\/a>, with firms including Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin Procter, and McGuireWoods expanding their Manhattan footprints. Gibson Dunn and Baker Hostetler renewed in place, underscoring that firms are holding onto \u2014 and adding to \u2014 their office space, not shedding it.<\/p>\n

Kirkland and Goodwin, already among the year\u2019s biggest New York lessees, added tens of thousands of square feet in the fourth quarter alone. The expansions come as more firms move to four-day-a-week in-office requirements, a trend that has picked up steam across the Am Law 50.<\/p>\n

Commercial real estate executives say the link between space and attendance is no accident.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cLaw firms, especially the high-quality firms, are leading the market in growth in large measure because they all came to the realization, at about the same time, that when they are physically together, they are far more productive and creative,\u201d [Cushman & Wakefield executive vice chair Mark] Weiss said. \u201cTheir recent growth reflects this sudden reversal in their attitudes towards the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After years of hybrid hedging, Biglaw\u2019s real estate strategy is sending a clear message: if firms are requiring lawyers to show up, they\u2019re going to make sure there\u2019s room for them.<\/p>\n

Law Firms in \u2018Space Race\u2019 for NYC Office Leases<\/a> [Law.com]<\/p>\n

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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedI<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/a>n<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Biglaw\u2019s Return-To-Office Push Is Showing Up In Law Firm Real Estate Deals<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusinessman On Arrow Over Manhattan – New York – Success and Achievement Concept\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biglaw isn\u2019t just talking about getting lawyers back to the office \u2014 firms are leasing space like they mean it.<\/p>\n

Law firms took nearly 800,000 square feet of New York City office space in Q4 2025, according to data provided to Law.com<\/a>, with firms including Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin Procter, and McGuireWoods expanding their Manhattan footprints. Gibson Dunn and Baker Hostetler renewed in place, underscoring that firms are holding onto \u2014 and adding to \u2014 their office space, not shedding it.<\/p>\n

Kirkland and Goodwin, already among the year\u2019s biggest New York lessees, added tens of thousands of square feet in the fourth quarter alone. The expansions come as more firms move to four-day-a-week in-office requirements, a trend that has picked up steam across the Am Law 50.<\/p>\n

Commercial real estate executives say the link between space and attendance is no accident.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cLaw firms, especially the high-quality firms, are leading the market in growth in large measure because they all came to the realization, at about the same time, that when they are physically together, they are far more productive and creative,\u201d [Cushman & Wakefield executive vice chair Mark] Weiss said. \u201cTheir recent growth reflects this sudden reversal in their attitudes towards the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After years of hybrid hedging, Biglaw\u2019s real estate strategy is sending a clear message: if firms are requiring lawyers to show up, they\u2019re going to make sure there\u2019s room for them.<\/p>\n

Law Firms in \u2018Space Race\u2019 for NYC Office Leases<\/a> [Law.com]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedI<\/a><\/em><\/strong>n<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biglaw isn\u2019t just talking about getting lawyers back to the office \u2014 firms are leasing space like they mean it. Law firms took nearly 800,000 square feet of New York City office space in Q4 2025, according to data provided to Law.com, with firms including Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin Procter, and McGuireWoods expanding their Manhattan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":142543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Staci-Zaretsky-DDd6lZ.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}