Best / Nicest Law Firm Offices Forum

[polareagle]

It might be more useful for people to put down the worst offices. Law firms with open office plans need to be named and shamed - Latham NY I think has one.

Latham is moving into its new building sometime this spring and (at least from the renderings) it looks AWESOME. Brand-new offices at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. At least in the old building, first-years could opt in to the open office plan (or alternatively, elect to get a shared office). I was a summer associate in the open-office layout and honestly, I loved being near my colleagues and being able to socialize/bitch about stuff without leaving.

Yes, I'm sure it's great for socializing as a summer. You also, you know, didn't have to accomplish any real work. (To forestall the inevitable--"but I had a real summer with real work!"--sure, maybe, but you didn't have to do 60 hours of it in a week chained to your open office desk. That changes things.) Also, you spend a lot of time on the phone as a lawyer and nobody wants to run to a phone nook or whatever the alternative is supposed to be. (This is a problem with shared offices too; I don't know how New York juniors do it.) I doubt any real law firm lawyer here would defend open offices.

[Anonymous User]

In addition to the top-of-the-skyscraper atrium and the usual collection of glittering glass, fancy conference rooms, and shiny office details, the Kirkland Houston has some nice little perks. Cold brew coffee kegs on multiple floors, beer kegs, liquor cabinet, all free. Big expensive Italian espresso machine in the atrium (and standard coffee machines spread around). A rotating menu of free breakfast food and snacks in the center area of each floor (admittedly mostly cereal, donuts, bagels, and other delicious carbs that you shouldn't eat, but some fruit or whatever too). All (most?) of the conference rooms include fridges hidden in the cabinets/wall that are full of sodas and other beverages to grab.

Each floor has a mini kitchen area, along with one that includes food for purchase (sandwiches, wraps, etc. in addition to basic vending machine snacks). The kitchens include water dispensers of multiple types (still, sparkling, etc) and K&E branded glass bottles to drink/pour it out of. The staff pre-fills a bunch of fresh bottles every morning for people to grab. Speaking of staff, they cater so many meetings and events that the firm has its own permanent in-house catering company in the building, so there's always free food popping up. Not sure how that might change post-COVID.

There is both an elevator and an internal staircase, and it's useful to have options for jumping between floors. The offices are all glass-walled, which is lame for privacy but good for looking fancy. I guess it's just good that it's not an open office (those are the devil). All the offices have automated standing desks and other standard-modern-office accoutrements. Last I heard, first years all get their own office on the internal part of the floor. Second or third years upgrade to a window office. Partner offices are obviously bigger and fancier.

There is a free gym on site, though it's shared with the rest of the building. The office has its own parking garage, and the firm pays for it - super convenient.

Probably more that I'm forgetting, but that's an overview. In general, the firm seems to focus more on growing revenue (read: hours + billing rates) than it does on cutting costs. Which is actually something to reflect on, because a lot of companies are cost-focused, and thus nickel-and-dime you on quality of life. Frustrating. If I'm going to work my ass off either way, I'd prefer to do so at a firm that will spend money to make it more bearable - and K&E does.

This is good info, but also weirdly recruitment-y and kool-aidy. Anyways, I have visited their office and it is indeed very nice. There's a fountain in the lobby of the building, which is cool.

Anon who wrote that description. lol fair, maybe I should switch over to recruiting. I'm sure you could write up most firms' offices in a similar way and make them sound great. Regardless, that's the stuff they have (or at least it was pre-COVID, who knows after we get back). My point about cost-focused places comes personal experience with former employers that were fucking dicks about minor reimbursements or QOL spending, so K&E not doing that stood out to me.

[Anonymous User]

It might be more useful for people to put down the worst offices. Law firms with open office plans need to be named and shamed - Latham NY I think has one.

Latham is moving into its new building sometime this spring and (at least from the renderings) it looks AWESOME. Brand-new offices at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. At least in the old building, first-years could opt in to the open office plan (or alternatively, elect to get a shared office). I was a summer associate in the open-office layout and honestly, I loved being near my colleagues and being able to socialize/bitch about stuff without leaving.

Yes, I'm sure it's great for socializing as a summer. You also, you know, didn't have to accomplish any real work. (To forestall the inevitable--"but I had a real summer with real work!"--sure, maybe, but you didn't have to do 60 hours of it in a week chained to your open office desk. That changes things.) Also, you spend a lot of time on the phone as a lawyer and nobody wants to run to a phone nook or whatever the alternative is supposed to be. (This is a problem with shared offices too; I don't know how New York juniors do it.) I doubt any real law firm lawyer here would defend open offices.

Agreed, open offices are absolute dogshit and when I was applying, a firm having one was a HUGE negative. Like, I'd put up with it if it was my only option but no way in hell am I signing up for that if I don't need to. I spent years in an open office and it was dreadful. There are a small number of extremely specific jobs and team structures for which it might make sense, but lawyers are not one of them. Or most other jobs. Yeah it's cool as a summer where you're dicking around all the time but fuuuuuck no do you want to deal with it when you have real work do it. Nightmare. Hate it.

[freesplitting]

Gensler is the architecture/design firm that does a lot of law firm design. You can see a bunch of offices that they've designed on the Gensler website, if you're interested to see how firms compare.

[Anonymous User]

White & Case NY. Built brand new in 2017, they occupy the top 8 or 9 floors, the top top floor is a firm gym that's open 24/7. Glass and white marble all over the place - looks like what you'd expect a law firm in movies/TV shows to look like. The only downside is the lack of privacy in offices I guess, but most places seem to have open-door policies anyway

Thoughts on how negative having glass walls for your office is? Feel like you'd never get any real privacy but don't know if that's even necessary or available at other firms with normal walls but almost-always-open door policies.

[Anonymous User]

The new Cahill one looks pretty cool. https://www.cahill.com/firm/32-old-slip

[Anonymous User]

It might be more useful for people to put down the worst offices. Law firms with open office plans need to be named and shamed - Latham NY I think has one.

Latham is moving into its new building sometime this spring and (at least from the renderings) it looks AWESOME. Brand-new offices at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. At least in the old building, first-years could opt in to the open office plan (or alternatively, elect to get a shared office). I was a summer associate in the open-office layout and honestly, I loved being near my colleagues and being able to socialize/bitch about stuff without leaving.

Yes, I'm sure it's great for socializing as a summer. You also, you know, didn't have to accomplish any real work. (To forestall the inevitable--"but I had a real summer with real work!"--sure, maybe, but you didn't have to do 60 hours of it in a week chained to your open office desk. That changes things.) Also, you spend a lot of time on the phone as a lawyer and nobody wants to run to a phone nook or whatever the alternative is supposed to be. (This is a problem with shared offices too; I don't know how New York juniors do it.) I doubt any real law firm lawyer here would defend open offices.

I saw the picture of new office the HR team showed us, and I will say it looks only ok ... Latham has great practices, and is a prestigious firm, but it REALLY doesn't have much say when it comes to tastes LOL. Their old NY office is the one of the ugliest I have ever seen when I was a paralegal in the city, and their website is ... well, check it out yourself lol, looks like it dated back to the 90s when people first started using internet. I won't be surprised if their new NY office is not that pretty. Latham's long-time nemesis, KE, on the other hand, are doing a lot better in terms of website design and office decor.

Oh and btw, Latham is doing the whole "open space sitting plan" shit again in the new building in NY LOL good luck y'all!

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone comment on Cravath's office? Is it as stuffy and old-fashioned as the rumors say?

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone offer any insight on Weil NY office?

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone offer any insight on Weil NY office?

nice location, and pretty building, right next to the central park. But if i remember correctly associates have to share officemates up till 4th year, which honestly sucks

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone comment on Cravath's office? Is it as stuffy and old-fashioned as the rumors say?

Cravath is going to move to a new building in hudson yard, I think it's going to be really pretty! It's also the part of hudson yard that's closer to the penn station, so might be easier for commute compared to other firms in hudson yard

[Anonymous User]

It might be more useful for people to put down the worst offices. Law firms with open office plans need to be named and shamed - Latham NY I think has one.

Latham is moving into its new building sometime this spring and (at least from the renderings) it looks AWESOME. Brand-new offices at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. At least in the old building, first-years could opt in to the open office plan (or alternatively, elect to get a shared office). I was a summer associate in the open-office layout and honestly, I loved being near my colleagues and being able to socialize/bitch about stuff without leaving.

Yes, I'm sure it's great for socializing as a summer. You also, you know, didn't have to accomplish any real work. (To forestall the inevitable--"but I had a real summer with real work!"--sure, maybe, but you didn't have to do 60 hours of it in a week chained to your open office desk. That changes things.) Also, you spend a lot of time on the phone as a lawyer and nobody wants to run to a phone nook or whatever the alternative is supposed to be. (This is a problem with shared offices too; I don't know how New York juniors do it.) I doubt any real law firm lawyer here would defend open offices.

I saw the picture of new office the HR team showed us, and I will say it looks only ok ... Latham has great practices, and is a prestigious firm, but it REALLY doesn't have much say when it comes to tastes LOL. Their old NY office is the one of the ugliest I have ever seen when I was a paralegal in the city, and their website is ... well, check it out yourself lol, looks like it dated back to the 90s when people first started using internet. I won't be surprised if their new NY office is not that pretty. Latham's long-time nemesis, KE, on the other hand, are doing a lot better in terms of website design and office decor.

Oh and btw, Latham is doing the whole "open space sitting plan" shit again in the new building in NY LOL good luck y'all!

I saw the new office design and honestly thought it looks great - reminded me of their DC office design. Heard about their new gym, which sounds fantastic. Not sure about the open sitting plan part - I thought they said people could opt in or out, so the first years have the option to have shared office or just stay outside with the rest of their class

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone offer any insight on Weil NY office?

Wondering this as well. If anyone could jump in that would be great!

[Anonymous User]

White & Case NY. Built brand new in 2017, they occupy the top 8 or 9 floors, the top top floor is a firm gym that's open 24/7. Glass and white marble all over the place - looks like what you'd expect a law firm in movies/TV shows to look like. The only downside is the lack of privacy in offices I guess, but most places seem to have open-door policies anyway

Thoughts on how negative having glass walls for your office is? Feel like you'd never get any real privacy but don't know if that's even necessary or available at other firms with normal walls but almost-always-open door policies.

It depends on the office. My office has 3 glass walls, so I feel like I’m in a fish bowl. Everyone walking by can see my screen (even though the class is treated for privacy).

However, only having a glass door (which I used to have) is fine.

[Anonymous User]

White & Case NY. Built brand new in 2017, they occupy the top 8 or 9 floors, the top top floor is a firm gym that's open 24/7. Glass and white marble all over the place - looks like what you'd expect a law firm in movies/TV shows to look like. The only downside is the lack of privacy in offices I guess, but most places seem to have open-door policies anyway

Thoughts on how negative having glass walls for your office is? Feel like you'd never get any real privacy but don't know if that's even necessary or available at other firms with normal walls but almost-always-open door policies.

It depends on the office. My office has 3 glass walls, so I feel like I’m in a fish bowl. Everyone walking by can see my screen (even though the class is treated for privacy).

However, only having a glass door (which I used to have) is fine.

K&E Houston anon above. In our office it's one wall (including door) fully glass, three normal walls (or a window). I think it's a decent compromise.... I'd probably prefer frosted glass for more privacy, but having it be just one glass wall isn't the end of the world. Better than a fishbowl office, which in turn is infinitely better than an open office. Open office = bleh. I think blocking sound is way more important than visual privacy, which is the main difference between fishbowls and open offices.

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone offer any insight on Weil NY office?

Wondering this as well. If anyone could jump in that would be great!

It's the GM building, which IMO is one of the nicest buildings in the city. But it's also the GM building, so floor space is expensive as shit. Associates may share offices into their third year, and most associates are in internal offices, so no window. If you're a partner though, you can have some killer views of Central Park. I think they renovated the offices a few years ago for a more "modern" look (glass sliding doors instead of wood, etc).

No gym, but firms pays for gym memberships and gyms are littered all over midtown. Cafeteria is pretty good and subsidized. Also I think there may be some weird deal with Estee Lauder and cosmetics, but I never really looked into it.

[Anonymous User]

Is Milbank's Hudson Yards office open floor design? Do associates get their own offices?

[Anonymous User]

Is Milbank's Hudson Yards office open floor design? Do associates get their own offices?

Also very curious about this. Their website says "offices for all attorneys," but it's not clear what that actually means.

[Anonymous User]

Is Milbank's Hudson Yards office open floor design? Do associates get their own offices?

Also very curious about this. Their website says "offices for all attorneys," but it's not clear what that actually means.

I actually asked on my cb. Pretty sure she said you share with another associate for your first year or so but it's based on availability and you can get your own sooner

[Anonymous User]

Is Milbank's Hudson Yards office open floor design? Do associates get their own offices?

Also very curious about this. Their website says "offices for all attorneys," but it's not clear what that actually means.

I actually asked on my cb. Pretty sure she said you share with another associate for your first year or so but it's based on availability and you can get your own sooner

Juniors share an internal office with another junior. You get an external window office around mid-level, but it is based on availability, you're basically put on a waiting list. Some don't get one until half way through 4th year.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone comment on Cravath's office? Is it as stuffy and old-fashioned as the rumors say?

cravath is moving to hudson yard, should be good

[Anonymous User]

It might be more useful for people to put down the worst offices. Law firms with open office plans need to be named and shamed - Latham NY I think has one.

Latham is moving into its new building sometime this spring and (at least from the renderings) it looks AWESOME. Brand-new offices at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. At least in the old building, first-years could opt in to the open office plan (or alternatively, elect to get a shared office). I was a summer associate in the open-office layout and honestly, I loved being near my colleagues and being able to socialize/bitch about stuff without leaving.

Yes, I'm sure it's great for socializing as a summer. You also, you know, didn't have to accomplish any real work. (To forestall the inevitable--"but I had a real summer with real work!"--sure, maybe, but you didn't have to do 60 hours of it in a week chained to your open office desk. That changes things.) Also, you spend a lot of time on the phone as a lawyer and nobody wants to run to a phone nook or whatever the alternative is supposed to be. (This is a problem with shared offices too; I don't know how New York juniors do it.) I doubt any real law firm lawyer here would defend open offices.

I saw the picture of new office the HR team showed us, and I will say it looks only ok ... Latham has great practices, and is a prestigious firm, but it REALLY doesn't have much say when it comes to tastes LOL. Their old NY office is the one of the ugliest I have ever seen when I was a paralegal in the city, and their website is ... well, check it out yourself lol, looks like it dated back to the 90s when people first started using internet. I won't be surprised if their new NY office is not that pretty. Latham's long-time nemesis, KE, on the other hand, are doing a lot better in terms of website design and office decor.

Oh and btw, Latham is doing the whole "open space sitting plan" shit again in the new building in NY LOL good luck y'all!

Their NY office design actually resembles their DC office decor style, which I like - bright and modern. I think they have a pretty fancy new gym there too, unless I am mistaken. The new Time-Life building is really classic - it's the building in both Mad Man and the Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It's also right across the street from 1221 Ave of Americas, which is where the Devil Wears Prada and Suits were shot.

A friend who works there told me the opening sitting plan is optional - you can opt in to socialize with the summer class or opt out to have your shared office.

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone offer any insight on Weil NY office?

Wondering this as well. If anyone could jump in that would be great!

It's the GM building, which IMO is one of the nicest buildings in the city. But it's also the GM building, so floor space is expensive as shit. Associates may share offices into their third year, and most associates are in internal offices, so no window. If you're a partner though, you can have some killer views of Central Park. I think they renovated the offices a few years ago for a more "modern" look (glass sliding doors instead of wood, etc).

No gym, but firms pays for gym memberships and gyms are littered all over midtown. Cafeteria is pretty good and subsidized. Also I think there may be some weird deal with Estee Lauder and cosmetics, but I never really looked into it.

the exterior of the building looks fancy - right in front of the classic Apple Store in midtown. But associates all have no-window rooms lol, so unless you made it to partner you will never get to enjoy that central park view - also only a handful of partners get that view, majority of the partners still get the ordinary mid-town view, bc the GM building is a thin rectangular cuboid, the short side facing the central park, and the long side facing the rest of the mid-town. You share your office until you are a 4th year, according to some of my friends.

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone offer any insight on Weil NY office?

Wondering this as well. If anyone could jump in that would be great!

It's the GM building, which IMO is one of the nicest buildings in the city. But it's also the GM building, so floor space is expensive as shit. Associates may share offices into their third year, and most associates are in internal offices, so no window. If you're a partner though, you can have some killer views of Central Park. I think they renovated the offices a few years ago for a more "modern" look (glass sliding doors instead of wood, etc).

No gym, but firms pays for gym memberships and gyms are littered all over midtown. Cafeteria is pretty good and subsidized. Also I think there may be some weird deal with Estee Lauder and cosmetics, but I never really looked into it.

the exterior of the building looks fancy - right in front of the classic Apple Store in midtown. But associates all have no-window rooms lol, so unless you made it to partner you will never get to enjoy that central park view - also only a handful of partners get that view, majority of the partners still get the ordinary mid-town view, bc the GM building is a thin rectangular cuboid, the short side facing the central park, and the long side facing the rest of the mid-town. You share your office until you are a 4th year, according to some of my friends.

lol all wrong. People on this forum need to know they should shut up instead of talking about things they don’t have first hand knowledge at all.

We share office until the end of year 2.
3rd and 4th Year use internal solo office without windows.

5th Years have solo offices with real window and as long as your office faces the west or the north side you will see the Central Park from your window (so 50% of the exterior solo offices will have more or less central park view)

Not true at all that only partners will have central park view. The only difference between offices for partners and 5th year associates is the size. Some partners have big offices without central park view and some associates have small offices with central park view. But then of course the 3 or 4 offices on the northwest corner on each floor with the best central park views are big offices for the big dicks / really senior partners.

Not to defend our office location though. It sucks. It sucks even more that when our leases with GM building were up for renewal a few years ago, some of the senior partners vetoed the proposal to move to Hudson Yard (or anywhere that’s nicer and cheaper) and decided to pay a HUGE premium over market rents just because Weil has been in the same building since Day 1 of the Firm (and because they pretty much all live in UES so the commute to GE will be a lot easier than to Hudson Yard).

A lot of Weil’s long time clients are in the same building, but who cares. It’s not like that if we don’t move they will be clients forever (see Perella Weinberg)

[Anonymous User]

Clifford Chance - felt very dark like a dungeon and outdated with carpet all over.

Alston & Bird - underrated and classically charming given its small size in NY.

Proskauer - cool, frosted glass look all over. It felt a little sterile because it was pretty yet understated. Nothing extravagant. Great views of Times Square, but having the view is not worth the trouble of working in that area.

Milbank - have nothing to add given all the comments on it before, but something about it seems very boring. Yes, it’s pretty and in the new Hudson Yards area, but it felt very lacking. That area is obscenely boring/manufactured and has none of the character another building or neighborhood in NYC would have.