A recent Business Week article explores how the “rise of mobile workers has companies unloading space and rethinking what’s left.”
Square Feet. Oh, How Square! (7/3/06) opens with the fact that on any given day, 40% of employees are not in the office. They are on the road, working at clients, cafes, or home. “Left behind are dead zones of empty cubicles and dark offices.” In response, corporate America is re-thinking real estate. Companies are “dumping square footage” and re-designing what’s left to accommodate a mobile work force and support more effective collaboration.
I wrote The Future Law Office: Going Virtual over 2 years ago to suggest law firms consider enabling lawyers to work more easily from any location. Are law firms any different than corporate America? Yes. They typically rent the most expensive offices in town. So law firms probably have even more potential to save on occupancy than corporations. As I explained in my article, however, firms still need downtown offices. But do they need as much? BigLaw CIOs have an opportunity to help their firms save on their second biggest cost (rent) by enabling lawyer mobility.