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California  + Los Angeles  + Office  | 

Robust Law Firm Job Growth Drives L.A. Office Occupancy

Law firms in Los Angeles expanded their occupancy of office space and the local legal employment generated above average growth, according to CBRE’s 2019 North American Legal Sector Trends Report. Los Angeles continues to be the only traditional legal market experiencing a strong increase in legal sector jobs.

From 2016 to 2018, L.A. was second in the nation for lawyer employment growth at 13.2%, behind only Atlanta (21%). It was also the seventh fastest-growing legal services market in the nation, expanding by 3.8%, well above the national average of 1.6%. Los Angeles had more than 69,000 legal services jobs at the end of 2018, the second most of any U.S. market behind New York.

“Los Angeles has been experiencing significant growth in legal sector jobs, a trend that is extremely unusual across major U.S. markets,” said CBRE’s Stephen Bay. “This growth has been largely buoyed by the expansion of the media and tech industries in our market, which in turn has resulted in more legal professionals servicing those industries.”

Bay notes many law firms today deploy a dual-location strategy, with an office in DTLA, as well as one on the Westside where entertainment and tech-focused companies are based.

For the second year-in-a-row, Los Angeles’ law firms expanded their occupancy on a net basis. Overall, the market recorded 1.99 million square feet of law firm leases from Q3 2018 through Q2 2019, up considerably from the comparable previous period’s 711,532 square feet. The area also saw 210,580 square feet of net absorption in law firm space, second nationally to Dallas.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Public Relations and Communications for Connect Creative. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 40 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect Creative’s agency client services and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from public relations and content strategy, communications and message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. Prior to joining Connect Media in 2015, his most recent corporate communications roles involved leading a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, playing a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest (BrightView), the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. He has worked on marketing communications assignments for such CRE companies as Blackstone/Equity Office, Carlyle, Caruso, Disney Resorts, GE Capital, Irvine Company, Hines, Howard Hughes Corp., Jeffries, Lennar, MGM, Marcus & Millichap, Prologis, Raleigh Studios, Simon, Starwood, Trammell Crow Company, Transamerica, UBS and Wynn Resorts. Dennis has also worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of consumer electronic, media and tech brands including SlingMedia, Channel Master, Deluxe Media Entertainment, BeIn Sports, EchoStar and Sprint. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Off Madison Ave., Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, Boy Scouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and the Thunderbirds Charities.

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