Shopping For Offices

So now that I've got management responsibilities, one of the first big issues I need to confront is that the lease on our office expires at the end of January. Our current office, in my opinion, sucks ass, so I'd like to get us moved in to better digs. I've also been involved in looking for space for law offices before -- when my firm in California was first founded, again when it needed to expand, and again when we were looking at a new wave of expansion before I left and one of the other partners was called to active military duty. For the last phase, we tried to use the services of a commercial realtor, who I found to be a drag on the effort. I've also seen the commercial lease the office is under right now and I find it ridiculously simple compared to what I had been dealing with in California. So I feel entirely competent to look for commercial space on my own without the assistance of a realtor.

The most interesting space I've seen so far is in the building depicted to the right -- which is the old Federal courthouse and post office. Most of the first floor is taken by a bank and the post office, and the second and third floors are taken by the state appellate court. So we could rent space in the basement, which is not quite so bad as it sounds, because each basement space has its own sunken patio (not visible as shown) and there is both ample lighting and good ventilation. We might also consider space on the first floor as a sublet from the bank, which would be nice because the space is beautifully detailed with Empire-style architecture and sculpted Tennessee marble. That would be a good deal more expensive than the basement, though.

Another rather poor idea that was suggested was putting our office in an aircraft hangar, since it could be built to suit our needs and would be very cheap. It's a thought, but I don't want to have my office in an airport unless I practice aviation law, which I do not. I also do not want my depositions interrupted by engine tests or landings of larger aircraft, for which no amount of office-quality soundproofing could possibly do any good.

So I'm probably going to opt for more conventional class A or B+ space in an office structure downtown -- preferably one of the larger buildings with lots of other law firms already in it. Boring, I know, but let's face it: the legal profession is not known for its welcoming embrace of innovative or unusual ways of thinking or unorthodox behaviors. We should do what other law firms are doing precisely because other law firms are doing it. There are about half a dozen class A to B+ buildings in downtown Knox, and they are asking anywhere from $1.00 to $1.40 a foot for space. Considering that's something like a third of what similar space costs in most Los Angeles area markets, I'm not all that unhappy with the prospect of getting class A space.

So I'm shopping for a new house for my family and a new office for my employer. Everything is going to move within the next six months or so. Hopefully all the moves are for the better and when all the dust settles, everything will be better.