Womble Carlyle worked with Interior Architects and Storr Office Environments to create a new workplace in a building not far from their old location, but worlds apart in terms of performance. No longer is the firm spread over three non contiguous floors; it’s now on two connected floors with shared spaces available to all staff.<\/p>\n
60 Attorneys, 1 Office Size<\/h3>\n
The new work environment reflects changes in the legal profession, such as rising real estate costs, increasing collaboration in legal processes and generational changes in the workforce. For example, prestige and accomplishment used to be reflected in a lawyer’s office size. No longer. Each lawyer’s office at Womble Carlyle is the same size, 10 ft. x 15 ft., but smaller than their old offices.<\/p>\n
This marks a paradigm shift in a profession built on tradition and precedent, and requires an adjustment for attorneys long accustomed to striving for a “partner office.” But as Keith Arnott, director of facilities points out, “our attorneys now have furniture that better supports how they work, furniture they can reconfigure and adjust to exactly what they need. They can do more in less space.”<\/p>\n “Our attorneys now have furniture that better supports how they work. They can do more in less space.”<\/p>Keith ArnottDirector of Facilities, Womble Carlyle<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n The offices feel larger than their footprint, thanks to an exterior view and V.I.A. demountable glass walls along the interior. The walls share daylight with the rest of the floor, encourage more transparency and collaboration with colleagues, while providing true acoustical privacy.<\/p>\n Elective Elements<\/a><\/strong> freestanding furniture can be arranged in different ways and customized with storage and worktools options to support each lawyer’s workstyle preferences.<\/p>\n V.I.A. <\/a><\/strong>and the Elective Elements furniture work seamlessly together and support Womble Carlyle’s design directive to create “a refined, timeless and contemporary aesthetic with a light and inviting look and feel.”<\/p>\n Legal assistants, previously in open workstations, have enclosed offices, just as paralegals do. Doors can be closed during confidential phone calls or for more privacy during focused work. Offices for the legal assistants and paralegals have the same furniture application to provide future flexibility.<\/p>\n A decade ago it was not unusual for one legal assistant to support one, perhaps two attorneys. Today, one assistant supports four, and Womble Carlyle expects that ratio to continue to trend upward. That’s why the assistant and paralegal offices support varied work processes and workstyles, and help users to better engage with their work.<\/p>\n Consistent office footprints and furniture present another long-term benefit: the inevitable moves and changes are handled faster and easier.<\/p>\n While overall square footage has been reduced, the quality of work life has been enhanced. Every staff member has a height-adjustable worksurface and a Gesture or Amia ergonomic chair, to boost employee wellbeing, support and comfort. “We wanted to encourage people to move and change postures throughout the day and to collaborate more, and the adjustable-height worksurfaces have been a phenomenal hit. Walk around the office and you’ll see a third to half of our employees standing at any time,” says Christine Peterson, director of administration.<\/p>\n Law offices typically have piles of files and materials heaped everywhere. At Womble Carlyle, workspaces offer a variety of different vertical and horizontal surface options so print materials are easily organized and more accessible. Adjustable monitor arms allow users to position screens for comfortable viewing of digital information.<\/p>\n There’s also better support for collaborative work. Conference rooms for long-term legal cases, for example, include casual and formal meeting spaces and both seated and standing work areas. “People working on long-term projects can get up and move around, and they have different places for working, such as lounge chairs where you can sit back and read a long brief,” says Peterson.<\/p>\n The firm’s new caf\u00e9 encourages collaboration and camaraderie. It’s centrally located along a window and includes small group collaboration areas and a coffee bar. “On the very first day we moved in, two people who had worked on different floors in the old building introduced themselves to each other in the caf\u00e9. It was the first time they’d met,” says Arnott.<\/p>\n “There is an authenticity about their new work environment that represents them well,” says Sheri Ginett, who was the project lead for Interior Architects. “It’s modern with a touch of the traditional. It’s not extravagant or opulent; it’s the right space for a hardworking law firm.”<\/p>\n Johnny Loper sees benefits inside and outside the firm. “The space is more efficient, which our clients love because there’s less pressure on rates. We love this new workplace because it allows us to perform at a higher level, to work better both individually and collectively.”<\/p>\n The new workplace “allows us to perform at a higher level, to work better both individually and collectively.”<\/p>Johnny LoperManaging Partner, Womble Carlyle<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n One month after move-in, a follow-up survey asked Womble Carlyle staff to evaluate the new workplace and how well it met the needs they had identified as important to their work processes and workstyles.<\/p>\n Overall satisfaction with the workplace, on a scale of 1 to 7, took a significant jump, from 5.06 in the old offices to 6.17 in the new work environment.<\/p>\n Satisfaction levels with specific workplace factors also show major improvement. (Note: overall workplace satisfaction was measured on a 7-point scale; issues requiring less specificity, such as the workplaces needs below, were measured on a 5-point scale.) Some typical results:<\/p>\n![\"Womble](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1461192977\/www.steelcase.com\/2016\/04\/20\/16-0014752.jpg\")
![\"Womble](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1461193257\/www.steelcase.com\/2016\/04\/20\/16-0014768.jpg\")
![\"Womble](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1461193458\/www.steelcase.com\/2016\/04\/20\/16-0014759.jpg\")
A Higher Quality Work Life<\/h3>\n
![\"Womble](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1462392339\/www.steelcase.com\/2016\/05\/04\/16-0014754.jpg\")
Proving Their Case<\/h3>\n