Hudson Yards Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone on the inside hearing anything about the completion date for 55 hudson yards? I know a few biglaw firms are moving there, supposedly this fall.

[1styearlateral]

This was a good use of anon.

[ithrowds]

Is this the building that Boies Schiller, Cooley, and Milbank are moving to? If so, a friend at Silver Lake is also moving in there and he says not til Jan 2019 at the earliest.

[Anonymous User]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

[ithrowds]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

Cubicles instead of offices for all associates? That sounds rough...

[Anonymous User]

yes - pod-like desks out in the open in the hallways. Less than cubicles.

[misterjames]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

Cubicles instead of offices for all associates? That sounds rough...

a cost savings under the guise of millennial C O L L A B O R A T I O N

[ithrowds]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

Cubicles instead of offices for all associates? That sounds rough...

a cost savings under the guise of millennial C O L L A B O R A T I O N

Sucks for those associates, but it does sound like a decent number of firms in New York are slowly shifting towards this model

[Anonymous User]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

Cubicles instead of offices for all associates? That sounds rough...

a cost savings under the guise of millennial C O L L A B O R A T I O N

Sucks for those associates, but it does sound like a decent number of firms in New York are slowly shifting towards this model

That would literally be a dealbreaker for me if I was choosing between more than one similar firm. It sounds silly but the effect on your quality of life and ability to be productive during busy times would be massive. I would take a pay cut to have a door that closes.

[ithrowds]

That would literally be a dealbreaker for me if I was choosing between more than one similar firm. It sounds silly but the effect on your quality of life and ability to be productive during busy times would be massive. I would take a pay cut to have a door that closes.

I agree, the problem is these days that choice is not necessarily between an open office floor plan vs. your own office, but rather, open office floor plan vs. an office shared with another junior associate (which is the case with a lot of the larger NY-based firms)

[4LTsPointingNorth]

That would literally be a dealbreaker for me if I was choosing between more than one similar firm. It sounds silly but the effect on your quality of life and ability to be productive during busy times would be massive. I would take a pay cut to have a door that closes.

I agree, the problem is these days that choice is not necessarily between an open office floor plan vs. your own office, but rather, open office floor plan vs. an office shared with another junior associate (which is the case with a lot of the larger NY-based firms)

Even though a shared office isn't ideal, it's still much better than having a completely open floor plan. Particularly if you get along well with your office mate or if that person is otherwise unobtrusive

[spha12]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

Cubicles instead of offices for all associates? That sounds rough...

a cost savings under the guise of millennial C O L L A B O R A T I O N

Sucks for those associates, but it does sound like a decent number of firms in New York are slowly shifting towards this model

That would literally be a dealbreaker for me if I was choosing between more than one similar firm. It sounds silly but the effect on your quality of life and ability to be productive during busy times would be massive. I would take a pay cut to have a door that closes.

It's not silly. It's a very valid concern. Quality of life is a lot worse when everyone is in one big room and sees when you come in and out.

[Anonymous User]

Cooley is moving there. There will be cubicles for all associates. Mid-2019 is what we hear.

Cubicles instead of offices for all associates? That sounds rough...

a cost savings under the guise of millennial C O L L A B O R A T I O N

Sucks for those associates, but it does sound like a decent number of firms in New York are slowly shifting towards this model

That would literally be a dealbreaker for me if I was choosing between more than one similar firm. It sounds silly but the effect on your quality of life and ability to be productive during busy times would be massive. I would take a pay cut to have a door that closes.

It's not silly. It's a very valid concern. Quality of life is a lot worse when everyone is in one big room and sees when you come in and out.

Agreed and its not just about what time you come in and out.

Its about distraction, privacy etc.

It used to be standard with New York firms that first years shared an office and then after the first year you get your own. Now more and more firms are moving towards shared offices for longer.

Friends in other markets acted like sharing for the first year was a big deal but I actually didn't mind. You get someone to run things by and commiserate with and you are unlikely to have the kind of role on a case that requires you to be on the phone all day.

But any longer than that is a problem. When you are in the middle of a busy case and trying to crank out something that takes a lot of thought under time pressure and someone is trying to take a conference call next to you, its really not fun.

And that is if you do get along with someone well. And that is you get along well with your office mate. I can't imagine how much worse this would be in an open office. At least in a shared office you can put on headphones if you are distracted, or take a personal call if you need to, or sometimes have the space to yourself. This might be fine for a different kind of job but it would make life really hard as a junior lawyer. Any spin the firms put on it is just cover for the fact that they are saving money at the cost of associates' quality of life (and productivity).

[Anonymous User]

are BSF and Milbank also going to have the same open office arrangement?

[Anonymous User]

Milbank is doing offices (source: a managing partner told us this at lunch when I was a summer).