Why UK Law Firms are relocating: How workplace strategy drives efficiency and talent attraction

There’s a tendency to think of law firms as very traditional businesses, but when it comes to the workplace, they’re always looking forwards. There’s a trend emerging among law firms, including several of our clients at SPS, to relocate or restructure their offices. Their objectives may differ – some might have aging buildings, want to downsize and reduce energy costs, or even need more space and a smarter building. 

What do they all have in common? Building a more effective workplace sits at the core of their strategy.

Workplaces are becoming more flexible, agile and employee-focused, and the firms opening new offices right now are getting the jump on the competition. Attracting talent is increasingly difficult, so embracing a workplace strategy that’s beneficial to both operational performance and employee experience is vital.

For businesses in other sectors, it can be difficult to understand the impact of a workplace. Productivity is a tricky metric to measure, and just attending a physical office doesn’t necessarily correlate with increased workload. But for legal firms, billable hours are a much easier figure to monitor. With a commercial model built around time working on cases, the route to productivity becomes clearer: How can our workplace help fee-earners do more with their time?

And at SPS this is a question we ask ourselves too. When we sit down to meet with legal clients they are keen to hear how we can help, and we want to deliver the maximum impact. 

Our recent survey with WORKTECH Academy found that 90% of the most engaged employees had a supportive workplace, compared to just 14% of the least engaged employees. Creating a workplace that appeals to your employees first and foremost is the way to make that impact.

How Office Relocation Improves Workplace Efficiency in Law Firms

Many of the brand-new legal workplaces I’ve seen are focused on removing friction from the day-to-day experience. For example, rather than core business services – like mail and print rooms – being buried in the basement, these services are on main floors where employees have an easier time engaging with them. These are necessary services, especially in the legal sector where many documents are required to remain as a hard paper copy. It makes sense to have easier access.

Some clients have taken the step of consolidating business services together, removing the need to engage with different teams or log into different platforms. Instead, floor coordinators or service desks are becoming the heartbeat of the working floor – one-stop-shops where fee-earners can collect a package from a Smart Locker, book a desk for their visiting colleague and schedule a meeting room for the next day at the same central hub. In the old office, this same process might have meant speaking to three different teams, now employees can get back to work in just a few minutes.

It’s easy to see, from the firm’s perspective, why it’s worth the investment in a brand-new workplace that facilitates this sort of model. Removing the admin and traditional time sinks enables fee-earners to generate more value.

Designing Law Firm Offices That Attract and Retain Talent

A well-designed office isn't just a perk – it's a strategic asset that drives productivity, supports retention and sends a clear signal about the kind of firm you are

These new office spaces don’t just work for employers though. A key reason for investment is to give employees somewhere to work that’s worth their commute. Many law firms have kept some level of hybrid policy – even if they have mandated in-office days, they’ve rarely returned to five days a week. In the UK at least, steering away from mandates has made it easier to keep and attract talent.

And that’s the second reason law firms are looking at new workspaces: keeping that competitive edge. People don’t just want their new office to have on-site restaurants and trendy breakout spaces – if they’re paying a premium to travel in, they want it to improve their output too.

For many legal decision-makers I’ve spoken to, this is the key driver behind their moves. They want to build a space that people want to be in, that prioritises employee wellbeing and keeps them feeling engaged. The belief is that if a workplace is attractive to employees then it’s attractive to customers too, and for law firms that competitive edge can make the difference – both in recruitment and business.

A new type of legal workplace

The legal sector has always been competitive, and the firms investing in their workplaces today are making a long-term bet on their people. A well-designed office isn't just a perk – it's a strategic asset that drives productivity, supports retention and sends a clear signal about the kind of firm you are. It’s little surprise that so many firms are looking for a new workspace to define them in an increasingly employee-driven environment.