FROM THE PRESIDENT
Office Space | Mike Abelow MIKE ABELOW, Publisher WILLIAM T. RAMSEY, Editor-in-Chief CAROLINE SAPP, Managing Editor LAUREN POOLE, Managing Editor ADRIENNE BENNETT CLUFF, Layout/Design/ Production
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE RAMONA DESALVO TIM ISHII KELLY FREY SUMMER MELTON ROB MARTIN BART PICKETT KATLIN RYAN KRISTIN THOMAS JONATHAN WARDLE NASHVILLE BAR JOURNAL (ISSN1548-7113) (USPS 021-962) is published bi-monthly by the Nashville Bar Association, 150 4th Ave N, Ste 1350, Nashville, TN 37219. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville TN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Nashville Bar Journal, 150 4th Ave N, Ste 1350, Nashville, TN 37219-2419. No part of this publication may be reprinted without written permission of the Nashville Bar Journal Editorial Committee. All articles, letters, and editorials contained in this publication represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Nashville Bar Association. For more information, visit NashvilleBar.org/NashvilleBarJournal. The Nashville Bar Journal welcomes discourse. You may submit counterpoint editorials to Adriene.BennettCluff@ nashvillebar.org to be considered by the editorial committee for publication in a future print or online content. NASHVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION 150 4th Ave N, Ste 1350 Nashville, TN 37219 615-242-9272 | NashvilleBar.org The Nashville Bar Association, established in 1831, is a professional organization serving the legal community of Nashville, Tennessee. Our mission is to improve the practice of law through education, service, and fellowship. The NBA—with 2,500+ members—is the largest metropolitan bar association in Tennessee.
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According to a recent Georgetown Law School & Thompson Reuters survey, occupancy costs are second only to staff compensation in the ranking of law firm expenses, and the average occupancy cost per full time equivalent lawyer is nearly $50,000. Occupancy costs account for 25% of overhead, on average. Due to the long term nature of some leases, experts note that “changing the trajectory of occupancy is like turning around the Titanic, slow and frankly, frightening.” Maybe so, but the Nashville Bar Association is here to help its members determine if they are, in fact, on the Titanic, or there’s a more nimble ship available, which can avoid all icebergs. With numerous new office buildings going up around town, along with changes in practice as we’ve all realized we can work effectively from home, we thought it was time to look at the overall market and the trends in law firm office space that we’ll be seeing in the next 5-10 years. For example, does the law firm office space in 5-10 years include a dedicated office for each attorney? Or, will there be a switch to “hoteled” offices that are available only when needed? What are the trends in office size and uniformity? What are the trends in conference rooms and conference room technology? To address these issues and others, our Real Estate Committee, chaired by Michael Wennerlund and David Wicker, is presenting a Real Estate Summit, October 20, 2021 at 12:00pm, with lunch provided. We will hear from both real estate brokers on what’s coming online in the market and the latest trends, as well as fellow lawyers who have recently made moves or are in the process of doing so. Befitting the topic, the Summit will be at Baker Donelson’s new offices in the Broadwest building on West End, so attendees will be able to see some of the new space concepts in practice. You can sign up to attend here: NashvilleBar.org/RealEstateCLE I’m also proud to report that the first edition of the NBA’s Trial Court newsletter is out. David Anthony and Michael O’Neill are the editors of this new benefit for members. Many significant trial court decisions, particularly by our State Court Judges, are never published or recognized unless the case happens to go up on appeal. In the old days, there used to be a company that did this across the State but that has gone away. Also in the old days everyone was around the court house and knew that Judge A had decided X. Those days are gone, so the NBA is moving to fill the gap. David Anthony and Michael O’Neill summarize the decisions and provide critical “practice notes” on the key lessons they took away from the cases. We need your help on this project—if you are involved in a case that has a trial court decision that may be of interest, please reach out to David or Michael and send them a copy. Thank you for being a member of the NBA. If you have further ideas on projects that would be valuable to you in return for your investment, please don’t hesitate to let me know. n
NASHVILLE BAR JOURNAL | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021
