Closing a law office can signal trouble or low demand in a particular market, but industry watchers say it's increasingly just a sign of the times, as firms seek to minimize costs and take advantage of the increased flexibility technology provides.
"Most firms that have satellite offices close to main offices are evaluating whether it makes sense to keep them or not," said Robert Nourian of recruiting firm Coleman Nourian. "It's much more about how you distinguish yourself, what you're providing ... that drives more of who is getting work than just having an office in a particular city."
There was a time when opening additional offices showed that a law firm was thriving, Nourian said. But now, expanding into second-tier cities or suburbs is less of a priority.
Ballard Spahr provided an example earlier this month. When a few partners left its small outpost in San Diego, it chose to relocate the remaining lawyers to Los Angeles and close the office, rather than rebuilding it. The practice mix among the remaining San Diego lawyers was more fitting in the Los Angeles market, firm chairman Mark Stewart said.
Ballard Spahr also relocated its Bethesda, Maryland, lawyers to its nearby Washington, D.C., office two years ago, citing efficiency reasons. It kept the space largely unused until this year, when the lease ran out.
In contrast, when the firm brought on a group in Boulder, Colorado, earlier this year, it chose to keep that location, despite its close proximity to the existing Denver office. The high-tech and startup community in Boulder is distinct, Stewart said, and clients there want their lawyers to be part of the community.
Firms' decisions in that respect are "going to be driven by practice mix and what the clients want," Stewart said. "There's no rule here anymore."
Fox Rothschild managing partner Mark Morris said the fate of suburban law offices has been a topic of discussion at his firm, though he doesn't anticipate any office closures in the near future. It may be something to consider when leases expire, he said.
The firm has three offices in the Philadelphia suburbs, each within 35 miles of the Center City location, and two are less than 15 miles apart. It also has an office in Wilmington, Delaware, less than 30 miles from Center City. That footprint was a product of Fox Rothschild's early growth model and the resulting acquisitions, Morris said, when it was focused on growth within a one-hour travel radius of Philadelphia.
Those locations still have their benefits, particularly for lawyers who live close by, Morris said, but it will likely become less common to see law firms opening new offices in the suburbs.