Law Times

Page 8 April 25, 2016 • lAw Times www.lawtimesnews.com Spaces promote collaboration, efficiency Good design has spinoff effects, say firms BY MICHAEL MCKIERNAN For Law Times W hen Borden Lad- ner Gervais LLP began revamping its strategic plan five years ago, the partnership decided the firm-wide transfor- mation should be ref lected in its physical space. After a previous relocation for the Calgary office and major ren- ovations in Montreal and Van- couver, this fall, another piece of the puzzle will fall into place as the firm's Toronto headquarters will relocate a block north from its current digs in Scotia Plaza to the Bay Adelaide Centre. "We think our space is go- ing to promote and signal to the outside world what BLG is like from an internal cultural perspective," says Andrew Har- rison, the firm's Toronto region- al managing partner. "When people come in, they will realize that this is a firm that has a dif- ferent way of practising law." Gus Karantzoulis, a part- ner in BLG's financial services group who is leading the move, says large, open spaces and glass-fronted office walls are a key feature of the new design. "Natural light will no longer be the exclusive right of the peo- ple with offices on the edge of the building," he says. "We feel transparent spaces are a signal that we're promoting accessibil- ity, teamwork, and management transparency." Fully modular work areas have freed up room for board- room space, which has in- creased by 70 per cent compared with the Scotia Plaza office. Meeting and breakout rooms are also interspersed through- out work areas. "The intent there is to pro- mote collaboration among lawyers and clients for the in- creased efficiency that clients are demanding in this changing legal environment," Karantzou- lis says. Even the lounges on each f loor, and the cafe on the con- ference room f loor, shared by BLG staff and their guests, are laid out with similar motives in mind. "It's not just a space where you go grab a coffee and then leave," Karantzoulis says. "It's designed to promote interaction with other lawyers and staff in the firm to increase the chance of creativity and collaboration." Karantzoulis says the firm will also use the move to slash the amount of space devoted to filing cabinets by 60 per cent. "The office of the future needs to be efficient, both from a clients' service perspective as well as an environmental one, so we're taking great care to reduce the amount of paper we use," he says. "Law firms can be very paper-intensive places, as you can imagine, so people's habits will have to change to accom- modate a reduced reliance on paper, but we will be providing the technological solutions to facilitate that change. "One benefit of a move is that you can get people to change in a way that you just can't when you're staying in place. We're trying to leverage that," Harri- son adds. McCarthy Tétrault LLP is another Bay Street heavyweight that has attempted to ref lect its philosophy in the way it manag- es its space. Earlier this month, the firm unveiled a brand new office for its Vancouver team, which it claims will change "behaviours and the way our people work." The new look is consistent with the firm's previ- ous re-designs in Calgary and Quebec City, according to a news release. "Collaboration and innova- tion are at the core of how we re-envisioned our Vancouver workspace," said Tracie Cook, McCarthys' chief operating of- ficer in a statement. "Our new space will allow for more open communications between all members of the firm, leading to even better integration of our specialized industry and prac- tice groups. We've also intro- duced new technology options for everyone, so that our people can work in the most efficient and customized way possible. According to Michael Lee, it's not just larger firms that can inf luence the way their lawyers work using simple tweaks in the way the desks are laid out. When he co-founded Toronto corpo- rate and securities law boutique SkyLaw Professional Corpora- tion with Kevin West in 2011, they called on Lee's previous ex- perience in the U.K., where tra- dition dictates that each office is populated by two lawyers, usu- ally pairing a junior lawyer with a more experienced partner. "I'm sure it's partly driven by real estate being such a prime commodity in London so that you have to squeeze as much as you can out of whatever square footage you've got, but I was able to learn a lot that I wouldn't have otherwise. It was a great way to foster a relationship with some- one more senior," Lee says. "It was certainly better than some of the places I have been on Bay Street, where you tend to be cut off. It's nice having your own office with a lot of quiet space, but you could easily go through an entire day not speaking with anyone. That might work for some people, but I need a bit of interaction." Lee and West set up a shared office in their Toronto space, in- spired by the London model. "We were often working on the same things, so it was great to be able to bounce ideas off each other," says Lee, who re- cently returned to the U.K. to work for international giant White and Case LLP, but he re- mains a member of SkyLaw's business advisory board. LT FOCUS ON running your practice Focus Gus Karantzoulis says the office of the future needs to be efficient. REACH ONE OF THE LARGEST LEGAL AND BUSINESS MARKETS IN CANADA! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN PRINT 8JUINPSFUIBOQBHFWJFXTBOEVOJRVF WJTJUPSTNPOUIMZDBOBEJBOMBXMJTUDPNDBQUVSFTZPVSNBSLFU FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Colleen Austin T: 416.649.9327 | E: colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com www.canadianlawlist.com Get noticed by the lawyers, judges, corporate counsel, finance professionals and other blue chip cilents and prospects who find the contacts they need for Canadian legal expertise at canadianlawlist.com with an annual Gold or Silver Enhanced listing package. ENCHANCE YOUR LISTING TODAY! Untitled-3 1 2016-04-13 10:15 AM

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