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TRADING SPACES
The home renovation craze has spread to professional offices too, as law firms reinvent their workspace and their image through major redesign projects or wholesale moves. Here’s how five law firms went about becoming designer lawyers.
By Amy Jo Ehman
Doesn’t exactly sound like a prime location for a new law office, does it? But the partners of Patterson Palmer’s Charlottetown office thought differently, and the gamble they took on the old warehouse in 1999 paid off. Today it’s called Landing Place, one of the historic waterfront buildings in old Charlottetown, and the firm couldn’t be happier.
"It was pretty ugly," recalls partner David Hooley. "Big freight trucks were coming in and out. Quite frankly, it took a little imagination to fancy this as an office building." But the price was right, and the location turned out to be even better.
Seven months and about $2 million (including purchase price) later, the place has been transformed. The fuel tanks are long gone, replaced with a waterfront park where the Fathers of Confederation came ashore for the Charlottetown Conference of 1864. From his office window, Hooley can watch the cruise ships and yachts that dock in tourist season.
It took a leap of faith – and a good designer – to turn the old warehouse into a landmark building on one of Canada’s most historic streets. "A few of us were a little skeptical when we first came down to see where we were moving," remembers office administrator Darlene Wells. "But when it was completed, it was lovely."
Local interior designer Jack Miller made the most of the historic nature of the building by sandblasting the heavy wooden beams and adding a window in the boardroom overlooking the port. A cupola was placed into the roof, opening up the core of the building and filling it with plants and sunlight.
In Charlottetown, where history is everything, the firm’s partners were happy to get out of the office tower and make their own mark on the historic map. "It was unique and it had its challenges, as most historic buildings do," notes Miller, but the partners "loved old things, as most of us do down here."
Patterson Palmer was driven to purchase the old warehouse by two forces. First, the lease on their office had expired and they were facing a stiff increase in rent. And second, the partners wanted to plan for retirement by building equity in a piece of property. Now, they stand to profit by selling and leasing part of the building, and from the rising real estate prices on Charlottetown’s waterfront.
Perhaps most important, the new premises project a new image. "Our former office had a traditional English solicitor’s look to it," says Hooley. "It was nice and elegant, but fairly formal. When we moved to the waterfront, we opted for something professional-looking, but more warm and friendly."
Workplace makeovers
Patterson Palmer is just one of numerous law firms across the country that are keeping local designers and architects busy, pushing a trend away from the traditional law office and towards a new look unique to the firm. Call it image building, branding, or just making a statement to employees, clients, and competitors. Either way, it’s about making the law office look and feel as distinctive as the lawyers who work there.
The old status symbols are losing ground as law firms redesign to save money, create space and carve an image all their own, says Toronto designer Lynn McGregor of McGregor Design Group. "It’s not a fad," she says. "More and more, there is the realization that ‘image’ is an important part of the overall office design."
What’s driving the desire to rip out the old and install the new? As veteran partners retire, they’re being replaced by younger lawyers less attached to the old symbols of success and comfort. Massive desks in huge corner offices and intimidating architecture are becoming as dated as the attitudes towards careers and clients that they signify.
Moreover, established firms are growing fast, thanks to expansion, mergers, and acquisitions of smaller firms. The expanding workforce – lawyers, paraprofessionals and support staff – means these firms need more floor space, and even firms in office towers eventually run out of room. There’s also an increased understanding that space is money – money that could be better spent on things like meeting rooms, file storage or new technology.
Finally, there’s a growing sense that a distinctive style allows the firm to stand out in the marketplace, crucial to the effort of attracting young lawyers and new clients. What better way to express your style to others and impress it upon yourselves than through your very workspace?
"If someone can’t even remember what your office looked like because it looked like every other office, you don’t stand out. You just look like you’re middle ground," says McGregor. "The office space must communicate how you want to be perceived." More and more law firms are heeding this message.
Dynamic and innovative
In Vancouver, two of these factors motivated the partners of Heenan Blaikie to move into a custom-designed office in 1999. "We had just broken into five floors, and growing at such a pace that it was going to get tighter," says partner Arthur Evrensel. "Plus, it was an older building, and it didn’t say who we were."
They wanted an office that fit the image they wanted to project – dynamic, innovative, West Coast. They wanted a first glance to show them as a firm that was bright, young and on the leading edge. And they wanted to occupy no more than two floors, to foster a spirit of cooperation and collegiality among the lawyers.
So the firm leased a space larger than the old digs, just a block away on West Hastings Street, and hired an interior designer who understood their goals. What she created doesn’t look at all like a traditional law firm – office walls of frosted glass, light maple with accents of cherry, and stonework in the flooring, evoking the colours and textures of the sand, water and forests of the West Coast. In 2000, the project won a national magazine award as an "intelligent solution" to office redesign.
"We don’t have a rubber stamp that gets used on every law firm that we do," says the designer, Céline Pitre of Vancouver’s Ideas Design Build Move. "The status symbols [of the law office] are changing."
Indeed, Heenan Blaikie ignored one of the oldest such symbols in the legal world: the larger partner office. They asked the designer to make all the lawyers’ offices the same size. "It’s a value we hold dear, that all lawyers are created equal," says Evrensel, who sat on the redesign committee. "That was very important to us, and they were able to translate that into the design."
The firm created a small working library, putting the older books on display, and encouraged everyone to do more research on the computer. The firm employs a technology expert to help smooth the transition from books to on-line research.
"There were probably other designers with more experience in law firms," says Evrensel, "but they were telling us, ‘This is what you need,’ rather than listening to what we thought we would like." Like any client, Heenan preferred working with a professional who listened to what they wanted to do.
Consolidated growth
Image was a driving factor in the 2001 redesign of litigation boutique Lerners LLP in Toronto. The firm’s lease was up, the office was overflowing, and the old office’s image simply didn’t fit the current goals of the firm.
"We’d grown piecemeal over two floors, and the place was in danger of looking like a patchwork quilt," partner Simon Clements observes. "We wanted to send a message to other law firms that we deal with on files – while we may be a small player in Toronto with just over 30 lawyers, we view ourselves on equal footing with the big Toronto firms."
Finding a larger suitable office space in Toronto proved to be nearly impossible, so Lerners decided to make more efficient use of the space they already had. They renewed their lease on Adelaide Street West, negotiating an improvement credit to help cover the cost of renovations, and obtained the temporary use of an empty floor in their building. Then they hired a designer to redo their space.
"There’s a personality to every firm," says designer Helen Moffett of Helen Moffett Associates, who engineered the makeover. "This firm looks young. It’s not trendy, but it’s progressive and professional. They were willing to look at options, and so we gave them something that is really exciting."
Moffett got rid of the small claustrophobic lobby, the heavy double doors and the boardroom at the end of the hallway. Then she created a large reception area filled with light, surrounded by glass-walled boardrooms and a sweeping view of the city and Lake Ontario. The glass walls are fitted with automatic blinds that can be closed for privacy, but can also be opened wide to make space for client events.
"When you get off the elevator, the atmosphere is calming," says office manager Kimbalin Kelly. "Litigation is adversarial, so bringing clients and lawyers into a calming area is good for everyone."
Lerners retained the partner offices, but pared them down. "Some offices were so enormous, you could have held Olympic events in them!" jokes Clements. Now, lawyers are encouraged to meet clients in the boardrooms, which "enhances our professional image, because they don’t see the clutter and infrastructure of a law firm. They see a lawyer concentrating on them in a clean boardroom."
The redesign took into consideration the needs of everyone in the office, and Kelly says it paid off. "I see members of the staff bringing colleagues and parents into the office with a sense of pride. That plays into morale and that plays into productivity."
21st-century look
In a world where office windows are a definite status symbol, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in Montreal raised an eyebrow or two with the redesign of its office in Place Ville Marie. After a merger in 2000, the firm needed to accommodate more people. A number of three-window offices had to go.
"Most people accepted it, but not always with the best enthusiasm," recalls Luc Lissoir, managing partner of the Montreal office. "It was the most senior partners, the office leaders who were near the end of their law careers, who volunteered to give up their windows. That solved a few issues for me!"
Now there are more offices (from 52 to 78), the secretaries have larger workstations, and there’s a larger lunch room with ... yes ... windows.
Lissoir also took the office into the 21st century with the installation of the latest technology, wiring all the offices and meeting rooms for computers, and creating a customized videoconference centre for long-distance meetings with clients and with lawyers in other Gowlings offices across the country.
"We now have the capacity to improve without having to redo the walls every time. It will be a wireless office eventually." For now, he’s planning to scan many of the files, cutting the amount of paper and the space needed to store it. Older files that can’t be scanned are stored off-site with a quick retrieval system. Everyone is encouraged to cull superfluous paper and throw it out.
"Before, they had boxes and paper everywhere," Lissoir says. "Now they have less space for boxes and the boxes are elsewhere. Their ‘living quarters’ are the same size, because they don’t have all their junk with them in the office anymore.
"For our technology clients, it shows that we’re up to speed," he adds. "Clients don’t want to pay for the overhead of offices. They want to pay for service."
During the redesign, the law firm relocated to an empty floor in the same building, but that space was available for less than five months. Lissoir says the paint was not quite dry the day they moved back into their "new" office.
Work in progress
At Fillmore Riley in Winnipeg, renovations took much longer than did Gowlings’ in Montreal – more than a year, in fact – and the office remained fully functional throughout the work. "It was a logistical nightmare," laughs partner Parker Fillmore. "We rented lab coats for people who wanted to keep the dust off their clothes."
Working among renovations required a sense of humour. "We had fun things going on week after week to get people’s minds off the fact that they were living in concrete with wires hanging over their heads," recalls general manager Nicolle Brockie.
The renovations were accomplished by creating a "swing space" in which the workers did their renovations, and then moving that swing space around the office as the work progressed. "It was like a jigsaw puzzle moving through the firm," says partner Tim Dewart. "The hardest part was for everyone to keep a smile on their face."
Fillmore Riley had several goals for the redesign of their office at Portage and Main. They wanted to install the latest computer technology (including a "plug and play" room for in-house network control), to increase security at reception, and to reorganize the office after years of piecemeal additions. And like their fellow renovators across the country, they wanted an image update.
There actually wasn’t much argument among the partners about the redesign – until it came to the colour of the wood. "The old premises had the stodgy dark mahogany, and we had a lot of traditionalists who thought that’s what a law office is supposed to look like," says Fillmore. "We decided in our committee to go with the light wood. It was very controversial with the partners."
The designer, Rob Everitt of Winnipeg’s Everitt Design Associates, argued that if you’re going to spend money on redesign, it should at least look like you did. The partners took a vote and "light wood" was the winner. "To simply recreate the same look would have been disappointing," reasons Dewart.
The redesign also accommodated a collection of Canadian artwork that was moved from individual private offices into the common space. The designer complemented the collection by commissioning a Manitoba artist to create an etched-glass wall for the reception area.
The premises committee sought advice from support staff in decisions that affected their workspace, including a "trial run" of new chairs and their choice of computer workstations. The committee also installed full-spectrum lighting that simulates sunlight for better vision and well-being. And many of the office walls were replaced with frosted glass, so that exterior light could flow into the interior administrative space.
"Involving the support staff was a big part of the project and why it was so successful," says Brockie. "When the [furniture] started arriving, everybody was already on side."
Changing your space
What should lawyers and law firms expect to grapple with when they sit down to discuss a redesign of their own? Well, there’s no getting around the fact that this is an expensive undertaking – but the firms that took the gamble are convinced it was worthwhile.
The redesign at Fillmore Riley cost "a couple million bucks," says Dewart, excluding the advanced computer technology. "[But] financially, I think it’s helped the firm, because it’s allowed us to attract people, and clients are very comfortable with a firm that’s forward-looking."
In Montreal, the redesign and computer modernization at Gowling Lafleur Henderson cost "quite a few million dollars," according to Lissoir, including more than a million for new furniture and half a million for the removal of asbestos.
In Vancouver, says Arthur Evrensel, the redesign of Heenan Blaikie "wasn’t an expensive proposition at the end of the day." It was financed in large part though a building allowance of $55 per square foot (for about 22,000 square feet) amortized over the term of the lease.
"At first, clients said, ‘Boy, you spent a lot of money,’" Evrensel says. "But when we tell them the actual cost, they tend to be very happy. The clients love the space. The staff loves the space. It’s rare that lawyers leave here."
Setting the budget is one of the biggest challenges of the office makeover, but the renovation professionals agree that a firm seeking a redesign doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, they say that smaller changes – such as new carpets, better lighting and a paint job – can update an office look quickly and inexpensively.
And hiring a professional, they add, will actually save them money by getting the best products at the best price. "In this day and age, there is so much you need to know [just] to pick the right carpet," says Pitre in Vancouver. "The attitude that the secretary is best suited to do that is, thank goodness, becoming less prevalent."
Another challenge is reaching consensus within the office. Designers like to work with one point person, or a small committee, with the power to make decisions quickly. Committee members should start by defining the physical and psychological needs of the office space, what works and what doesn’t.
And once the renovations are underway, they must have the authority to make decisions quickly without consulting the other partners, "because you can’t have too many chefs in the kitchen," notes Everitt in Winnipeg. "That makes for a disastrous working environment."
It’s also essential to consider the future business objectives of the firm. Expansions or mergers on the horizon? Partners retiring? New areas of law or technological updates in the forecast? You don’t want a design that will no longer fit your firm’s profile or character in a year or two. Also, choose a timeless style: today’s trendy decor can be tomorrow’s dated look. You especially want to be wary of fads like feng shui.
"It’s not a good idea to design on those rules only," says Lynn McGregor, who has been asked to incorporate feng shui in some Toronto office renovations (though not in any law firms – yet). "The plan may be run by a Master and tweaked, so you know that it’s not offending any spiritual rules. But the office must meet the business and the functional needs first."
The designers conclude by observing that the office makeover is not just for larger law firms with major budgets. McGregor says it’s especially important for small firms and sole practitioners to "brand" themselves with a unique style that’s within their budget. "If they don’t attend to those details, they really disappear into the crowd," she says. "When you’ve only got so many dollars to spend, it becomes even more important not to make a mistake."
And a final word of advice comes from the lawyers who served on design committees and lived to talk about it: be patient and stay dedicated to the goal, because the whole process is going to take a lot of your time. "We’re happy to have served on this committee," says Tim Dewart, "but we’re not doing it again any time soon!"
Amy Jo Ehman is a freelance writer in Saskatoon.
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english
Transfiguration
Des cabinets sortent gagnants d’une métamorphose de leurs locaux.
La fièvre de la rénovation a gagné les professionnels.
À Charlottetown, les associés de Patterson Palmer ont vu, en 1999, le potentiel d’un vieil entrepôt à pommes de terre à devenir le magnifique édifice qui abrite maintenant leur cabinet dans le secteur riverain de la ville.
Le designer Jack Miller a voulu tirer le meilleur parti du caractère historique de l’immeuble en décapant au jet de sable les imposantes poutres de bois, en ajoutant une fenêtre donnant vue sur le port dans la salle de conférence et en perçant une coupole qui laisse entrer la lumière au cœur de l’immeuble.
Le bail du cabinet dans une tour de bureaux se terminait et une augmentation importante du loyer s’annonçait. Les associés voulaient mieux planifier leur retraite en investissant dans l’immobilier. Et ils voulaient un changement d’image. « Notre ancien bureau avait l’aspect traditionnel du solicitor anglais, dit David Hooley. C’était beau et élégant, mais plutôt formel. En déménageant, nous avons opté pour quelque chose de style professionnel, mais plus chaleureux et plus accueillant. »
Ce désir d’adopter un style distinctif, plus moderne, semble avoir gagné un grand nombre de cabinets juridiques à travers le pays. Les bureaux massifs, installés dans de vastes locaux, et l’architecture intimidante, pendant longtemps les symboles ultimes de statut et de succès, deviennent chaque jour un peu plus surannés.
Un bureau marié à l’environnement
À Vancouver, le cabinet Heenan Blaikie a déménagé dans des locaux conçus sur mesure en 1999. « Nous venions de nous étendre à cinq étages et, à ce rythme, l’expansion ne pouvait que nous mettre bientôt encore à l’étroit, dit Arthur Evrensel. En outre, le vieil édifice ne disait pas réellement qui nous sommes. »
À la recherche d’une image de marque dynamique et innovatrice, les associés voulaient qu’au premier coup d’œil, leurs bureaux annoncent un cabinet brillant, jeune et à l’avant-garde. Ils voulaient aussi se limiter à deux étages pour favoriser la coopération et l’esprit de collégialité entre les avocats.
Céline Pitre, de Design Build Move, les a écoutés et elle a créé pour eux un environnement très West Coast, primé par un magazine national, bien loin du cabinet juridique traditionnel. Murs de verre givré, érable clair garni d’accents cerise et maçonnerie de pierre comme revêtement de sol évoquent les couleurs et textures du sable, de l’eau et des forêts de la région.
Le cabinet a même exigé pour tous, associés de tous niveaux et salariés, des bureaux de même taille, rompant avec l’une des plus anciennes traditions dans la profession.
« C’est une de nos valeurs que tous les avocats sont égaux », dit Me Evrensel.
Une petite bibliothèque a été sauvegardée, les plus vieux livres mis en étalage et tout le monde a été encouragé à passer à l’ère électronique pour la recherche.
Petit mais pas insignifiant
À Toronto, en 2001, les membres du cabinet boutique Lerners trouvaient que l’expansion cahotique de leur pratique, qui occupait maintenant deux étages de l’immeuble, commençait à donner des allures de patchwork à leurs locaux débordants. Ils ont embauché un designer et déménagé temporairement ailleurs dans le même édifice, le temps d’une métamorphose en profondeur. « Nous voulions lancer le message aux autres cabinets juridiques avec lesquels nous traitons que, bien que de taille modeste – selon les critères torontois – avec une trentaine d’avocats, nous nous considérons sur un pied d’égalité avec les grands cabinets. »
Helen Moffett a créé pour Lerners un espace de réception assez grand pour accueillir 300 personnes, rempli de lumière et entouré de salles de réunions aux murs de verre, munis de stores automatiques, donnant vue sur le lac Ontario. « Quand vous sortez de l’ascenseur, l’atmosphère est calmante, dit la gestionnaire du bureau, Kimbalin Kelly. Le litige est un secteur conflictuel, alors clients et avocats bénéficient d’un lieu apaisant. »
Les avocats sont encouragés à utiliser les salles de réunions pour rencontrer leurs clients. « [Cela] rehausse notre image professionnelle car ils ne voient pas le désordre et l’infrastructure du cabinet, dit Simon Clements, un associé. Ce qu’ils voient, c’est un avocat qui se concentre sur eux, dans une salle propre et en ordre. »
La même grandeur pour tous
Dans un monde où la taille et le nombre de fenêtres dans un bureau constituent des symboles de statut importants, le bureau montréalais de Gowling Lafleur Henderson a pris l’audacieux pari, après une fusion en 2000 qui imposait un réaménagement des lieux, d’uniformiser la taille des bureaux pour tous. « La plupart l’ont accepté, mais pas toujours dans l’enthousiasme », concède Luc Lissoir, associé gestionnaire.
On a ainsi pu passer, en moins de cinq mois, de 52 à 78 bureaux, tous pourvus de la fine pointe de la technologie, et une salle de vidéo-conférence sur mesure a été ajoutée.
« Nous avons maintenant la capacité d’apporter des améliorations dans l’avenir sans avoir à défaire les murs chaque fois. Éventuellement, nous aurons un bureau entièrement sans fil », prévoit Me Lissoir. D’ici là, on aura archivé ailleurs les dossiers fraîchement numérisés. De plus, tous sont encouragés à réduire l’utilisation de papier.
Chez Fillmore Riley, à Winnipeg, la rénovation, qui a duré plus d’un an « a été un cauchemar logistique », selon l’associé Parker Fillmore, parce que le bureau est resté opérationnel, les ouvriers se déplaçant progressivement d’un secteur à l’autre selon l’avancement des travaux.
Les objectifs d’informatisation, d’augmentation de la sécurité et d’uniformisation et de modernisation du look ont facilement fait consensus. Mais lorsqu’il a été question de la couleur du bois… « Nos anciens locaux présentaient le lourd acajou foncé et bien des traditionalistes soutenaient que c’est de quoi un cabinet juridique se doit d’avoir l’air, dit Me Fillmore. Notre comité a plutôt opté pour un bois clair mais la question était controversée au sein des associés. »
On a consulté le personnel tout au long du processus. Des œuvres d’art, auparavant disséminées dans les bureaux individuels, ont été regroupées dans les espaces communs et un mur de verre gravé à l’eau-forte a été commandé, pour la réception, à un artiste manitobain, par Rob Everitt, le designer responsable du projet de rénovation.
Oui, les métamorphoses coûtent cher mais, parfois, de simples changements comme un nouveau tapis, de la couleur, ou un nouvel éclairage peuvent moderniser un look vite et à peu de frais. Dans tous les cas, il vaut mieux recourir à un professionnel qui voudra traiter avec une seule personne ou, à la limite, avec un comité restreint ayant l’autorité nécessaire pour rendre des décisions rapidement. |
