Space, the Final Frontier: Office Space Options Continue to Proliferate for Attorneys

A decade ago, lawyers had just one option for office space: a traditional lease.  That’s a costly option, of course, and can be a barrier to entry, especially for young lawyers, looking to start new law firms.  It’s also a scary, long-term commitment, potentially for up to five years, for any law firm.  Fortunately, there are now more office space options than you can shake a stick at. 



Due, in large part, to the rise of cloud-based technology, lawyers can now work at home, exclusively.  Modern consumers care less and less where attorneys work, and that means that lawyers don’t need an expensive downtown address, in the way that they used to need an expensive downtown address.  Instead of an office lease, you can get your mail in a big city to acquire a big city address, and talk to your clients via video conferencing.  . . . And, get them to sign documents using esignature tools.  . . . And, have them make payments via credit or debit cards, online.  The point is that, perhaps the biggest reason you don’t need an office anymore is that you don’t need to hold in-person meetings anymore, if you don’t want to. 

 

Of course, the flexibility of modern office space options means that you can meet your clients and colleagues only when you want to or need to meet them.  Most coworking spaces operate in multiple locations, so that you can access multiple locations for your single subscription rate, as your needs require.  Even if a coworking space is not your bag, more and more traditional law offices are renting space (in order to support their expensive, traditional leases), which gives you the cache of an old school law office, without the old school cost. 

 

A mix of working from home and working out of a coworking space or an office share is the most cost-effective way for today’s small firm lawyer to house a law practice. 

  

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If you’re trying to explore your office space options, we can help.    

Through a unique partnership between the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar and Jared Correia’s Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, Maine attorneys now have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discounted rate. 

To get started, visit Red Cave’s landing page for Maine attorneys, and start running your law practice like a business

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