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25 Percent of New York Area Law Firms Polled in Survey Are Now Sharing Office Space
Trend Seen as One Solution to Critical Office Space Shortage February 28, 2000 -- New York, N.Y -- A random telephone survey of over 150 law firms in New York City and its suburbs has found that 25 percent of those polled inhabit shared office space. Some real estate professionals see this as a trend caused by a space shortage so critical that New York Senator Charles Schumer has created a commission to deal with the problem. The survey asked attorneys if they share office space with another law firm or if other attorneys share space with them. One in four answered affirmatively. Of those, most stated that they also shared receptionist services, conference room facilities, law libraries, fax machines and other conveniences. The survey was a project of Offices2share.com (www.offices2share.com), a division of Small Biz Realty, Inc. founded by New York City-based commercial real estate broker Jeffrey Landers to address the critical need for small entrepreneurial and professional office space nationwide. The service is the first and only Internet database that matches companies that have excess office space with companies and individuals in need of space. The commission, co-chaired by Schumer and former treasury secretary Bob Rubin, was formed to explore possible solutions to an office shortage that is threatening to slow New York's economic expansion. Because of the shortage of all office space -- including small, affordable offices in prime business areas -- sharing office space is becoming increasingly popular among law firms. A firm that plans to expand in the future may find it beneficial to lease a space larger than what is presently needed and rent out an office or two to a colleague. In addition to securing a larger space, it minimizes its overhead by recouping the cost of telephone, secretarial, maintenance and other services. A sole practitioner who would not otherwise be able to afford an on-site law library may find it worthwhile to move in with an established firm. "Until now there has been no cohesive way for those in the legal profession to list or search for shared space," said Landers. "Some professional publications offer classified listings to their subscribers, but this allows only a very narrow search." To find a suitable tenant using Offices2share.com, potential landlords simply open an online account and post a description of their available space. For convenience, they can use passwords to access their accounts to add to, delete or edit their listings. Space seekers can, at no cost, search the database geographically, find what they are looking for and contact the listor directly. "We offer numerous advantages over newspaper classified advertisements," Landers said, "including a worldwide readership, more detailed space descriptions and lower cost." Offices2share currently has listings in over 100 U.S. cities. For additional information please contact: Offices2share.com 666 Fifth Avenue, 37th Floor New York, NY 10103 Telephone 212-541-3856 Fax 212-867-0347 or visit the Web site at http://www.offices2share.com. |