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Although Frost Brown Todd LLP’s previous downtown Indianapolis office was bigger in terms of square footage, the firm saw an opportunity to search for a new location with a more efficient space.
Some law firms, like Frost Brown Todd and Lewis Wagner LLP, have chosen to relocate their offices recently for a variety of reasons.
So has the Indiana State Bar Association.
There may be a need for upgraded technology or a smaller space, or legal organizations may want to encourage collaboration with a different layout in a new building.
In its Top 2023 Legal Trends Report, the website Legal Recruiter Directory noted an increased focus on collaboration within legal practices and the utilization of much smaller offices on average than previously.
Kandi Hidde, Frost Brown Todd’s Indianapolis partner-in-charge, said the firm is moving from its old office of 56,400 square feet in the Capital Center to a new 37,762-square-foot space in the Salesforce Tower.
Hidde said one of the main drivers for the firm to relocate was the antiquated floorplan in its previous office.
“We had a lot of wasted space,” she said.
Currently, FBT is in a temporary space in the Salesforce building. The firm’s permanent space will be on the 45 and 46th floors of the tower.
Hidde said FBT was scheduled to get a certificate of occupancy on July 3.
ISBA maintains physical presence for members
Joe Skeel, executive director of the Indiana State Bar Association, said the bar association moved in 2022 from the 8,500-square-foot office space it had occupied for several years in the Regions Tower to a smaller, 5,100-square-foot office just a couple of blocks away in the Capital Center on North Illinois Street.
Skeel said the ISBA formed a volunteer committee that discussed whether the bar association needed a new office space. It was decided, he said, that the bar association needed to maintain a physical presence with an office for members.
The ISBA had started the process of touring and viewing possible new office spaces when the COVID pandemic started. Seeing staff members working remotely during the pandemic allowed the bar to better home in on what its office needs were, Skeel said.
“It became pretty clear we didn’t need to be in an office five days a week,” he said.
In the new ISBA office, there are only two private offices and two conference rooms. The rest of the space is flexible and open.
ISBA staff only come into the office on Tuesdays, Skeel said. The other four days of the week, the staff can work remotely wherever they choose.
When staffers do come into the building on Tuesdays, they sit in large training areas together.
When working remotely, most ISBA staff business is done through Microsoft Teams.
“I think it’s worked out great,” Skeel said.
Tuesdays are for water cooler talk, brainstorming and idea generation, and working on the organization’s intangibles, Skeel said.
“As far as the culture, it solidifies it, that one day a week,” he said.
Also on Tuesdays, the ISBA has been bringing people from the legal profession in to talk to its staff. The ISBA team is not comprised of attorneys, Skeel explained, so the Tuesday presentations give them a better understanding of how the legal system works.
ISBA also holds continuing legal education programs in its new space. Additionally, members can use the space to meet with clients, Skeel said, a perk that’s included with member dues.
The new office has only been open for member use for the past 2½ months, Skeel said.
“The vast majority of our use has been with our own sections and committees,” he said.
Bringing people back to the office
One longtime Indianapolis law firm has had a couple of years to adjust to its new office space.
Lewis Wagner LLP relocated to its current location in June 2021.
Managing Partner Richard Blaiklock said the firm likes its near east side location in the former Box Factory along the North Mass Ave. corridor.
“It’s worked out. We couldn’t be more pleased,” Blaiklock said.
There’s slightly more space than Lewis Wagner’s old location, but Blaiklock said the key is that the space is more efficient.
“We couldn’t fit all the people we have here in our old office,” he said.
The firm’s conference center is on the first floor while its offices are on the fourth floor and are all the same size.
Post-pandemic, Lewis Wagner has made an effort to get people to communicate more and come into the office.
Blaiklock said the firm holds monthly all-firm lunches, plus monthly Beer Wednesdays.
“We are trying to do things to get people in the office,” he said.
Lewis Wagner staffers come into the office either on a Monday-Wednesday schedule or a Wednesday-
Friday schedule.
Attorneys don’t have a mandated attendance schedule in the office, Blaiklock said, but they are strongly encouraged to come in on a regular basis.
Having a conference center on the first floor and improved technology have been big pluses at the new office, Blaiklock said. It also helps to have a rock climbing gym, North Mass Boulder, next door.
Blaiklock said the Lewis Wagner four-story office building is attached to the gym.
“It’s a pretty vibrant place,” he said.
FBT aims for hospitality-
focused space
According to FBT, the firm hired global architecture, design and planning company Gensler to create a new hospitality-focused office that welcomes both clients and staff.
The new office design celebrates the Circle City’s history as the Crossroads of America. It includes centralized gathering areas, like the client-focused Victory Circle, that are multifunctional and designed to bring people together.
Also, new technologies in the firm’s meeting rooms support both in-person and hybrid meetings.
Hidde said glass-fronted offices and meeting rooms ensure everyone has access to natural light. Also, she said the new office will have an internal staircase that is supposed to promote more teamwork and collaboration at the firm.
“It’s kind of a new, refreshing look,” she said.
Hidde said the firm decreased its footprint and went from five floors to two with the new office. But its workforce numbers have actually increased a little bit.
“Obviously we’ll try this and see how it works,” she said.
Hidde said the firm has an option to lease more space in the Salesforce building if it needs it.•
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