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Home > Issue by Date > March 2008

Firm Evolution

An Atlanta-based law firm moves into the 21st century without forsaking its roots.

By Anne Vazquez

The driving force behind a facility management (FM) professional’s work is to support the operations and core mission of his or her organization. In tackling the daily tasks at hand—many of which can seem far afield from central operations—this focus can often become a bit blurred. But, there are those times when the facilities team has the resources, foresight, and support it needs to create and maintain a space that directly affects the progress of the organization.

The Atlanta, GA headquarters of King & Spalding is a project that reflects that type of success. In March 2006, the commercial law firm moved out of downtown offices it had occupied in that city since 1991 and into a newly constructed high rise in midtown Atlanta.

Founded in 1885, King & Spalding has been headquartered in downtown Atlanta since its inception. With six other offices in the U.S. and four overseas, this commercial law firm has expanded steadily throughout its history. In 2001, with the firm’s lease on its space set to expire in 2006 and recognizing the need to be proactive, the Chairman spoke with Harry L. Ludwig III, director, facilities & administrative operations, various partners, and the chief operating officer about the best course of action for the firm’s space needs going forward.

“We were looking to put ourselves into space that we knew would work for the firm and that would support its business practices for the next 15+ years,” explains Ludwig. “The space we were in was very nice, but it had been designed in the late 1980s, and space standards and the use of the space had evolved.”

The Chairman created a five person space committee to look at the potential for the existing offices as well as the possibility of moving to a new facility. The committee—initially comprised of Ludwig, the chief operating officer, and three senior partners in the firm—began by evaluating what could be done to the space they were occupying.

“The committee also interviewed four commercial real estate brokers,” explains Ludwig. “We knew we would need to have a broker working with us in this process. We chose to work with Cushman & Wakefield, and with them, we identified several [interior] design firms that had done a significant amount of law firm space—which is different in many ways from corporate space including that law firms require more private offices.”

Upon choosing Gensler to provide interior design services, the committee’s next task was to visit the offices of a number of peer firms around the country in order to identify new space design concepts, standards, and operational strategies which might work for King & Spalding. Explains Ludwig, “We asked ourselves, ‘How do we address the issue of space, and how do we evaluate the space we’re in relative to what is being done today and would be done going forward into the future?’ We looked at peer law firms that were either in new space or space much newer than ours to learn and compare.”

Remaining in the firm’s previous space (albeit with some modifications) versus the option of relocating to a new building was evaluated thoroughly. During this time, the space committee also evaluated presentations by a number of Atlanta developers and learned of a building planned within the city that could potentially meet the needs of the firm. After much research and review, carefully considering all relevant factors, the decision was made to relocate.

The space committee met with Hines, the developer of what became a 41 story office tower. Eventually it was decided that the firm would occupy 421,947 square feet on the three large podium floors (15-17) as well as the top 14 floors in the building’s tower (floors 28-41).

Says Ludwig, “The ability to be involved in the project early on enabled us to have a good deal of input. This benefited us significantly in terms of planning our space in the new building.”

Be Flexible

Once the decision was made to move to a new building, the space committee (expanded to nine members by the addition of four partners and renamed the building committee) set to work with Gensler to design its offices. Flexibility was a theme that had arisen early in the planning process; Ludwig explains that the ability to reconfigure certain areas quickly to accommodate changing needs without costly, time consuming redesign and construction was paramount.

The numerous and varied activities occurring on practice group floors meant that space needs could change quite frequently. For instance, a practice group might need an extra workroom while a case was occurring; yet, when the case concluded, the space might be needed for file storage or some other purpose.

The firm is comprised of two types of practice groups—transaction and litigation. Each has different needs in terms of space usage. Ludwig explains, “Transaction practice groups require more conference rooms and collaborative space, while litigation practice groups, because they generate more hard copy documentation, need more storage space. We met with the practice group leaders to discuss space planning options and elements that would best meet the specific needs of their respective practice groups.”

Together, the designers from Gensler and Ludwig’s internal project team came up with the concept of “flex zones.” There are four zones located on every practice floor, providing space that can be reconfigured by in-house facilities staff.

Where in the previous space, offices and common spaces were rigid in their construction, the flex zones provide the firm with four areas on each floor that can be used in a number of ways.

For instance, many of the paralegal offices are housed in flex zones. Each paralegal flex zone can be divided into four or five smaller areas with 7' high panel walls. Modular workstation components serve as the furnishings. The walls facing the hallway and surrounding the flex zones are hard walls with doors, which give the appearance of permanency.

The benefit of the flex zones comes into play when changes in personnel or space needs arise. For instance, if a practice group needs only two paralegal offices for a period of time, the facilities staff can remove the panel walls and workstation components that are not needed. This creates a space that can be used for another purpose, such as a small workroom, conference room, or file storage area.

Says Ludwig, “We have the ability to pull out the components of one, two, or three offices/workstations, put them into storage, and then bring in folding tables, shelving, file cabinets, and seating. Virtually overnight, we can turn part of that space into a brand new workroom without having to move walls, relocate electrical and data outlets, reconfigure overhead lighting, and patch or replace carpet. Conversely, we can flip the space back to paralegal offices or other uses as needed. And we do this without any new construction and the delay that would cause.”

Ludwig notes that the flex zones are an example of a central goal for the building committee—to learn from the previous space. “It was an approach of ‘Let’s take what we have learned and put it to good use here,’” he explains.

Less Can Be More

This “lessons learned” mindset applied when thinking through maintenance issues as well. Ludwig notes that the internal project team paid special attention to identify design elements and finishes that had been costly to maintain, created indoor environmental issues, or both.

“In the previous space, we had some finishes that required a great deal of maintenance,” Ludwig explains. “For instance, we had conference tables that were 18th century antique reproductions with beautiful wood veneer tops. The problem was that we have people working with boxes full of records, thick files, heavy books, and briefcases. These items are pushed back and forth across the tables during work.

“We had our wood refinisher in on a routine schedule,” Ludwig continues. “He would come in every month to refinish the tables and other wood surfaces. I used to joke that I was going to give him an office.”

As a result of this experience, Ludwig specified that all conference tables in the new headquarters (including in the boardroom) would be topped with granite. “Every square inch of the stone looks as good today as it did two years ago when we moved in,” he says. In addition to conference tables, the firm specified granite for built-in sideboards, serving bars, and transaction shelves in secretarial workstations.

Specifying less wood material in the King & Spalding offices has also resulted in improved indoor air quality and fewer complaints. “We don’t have the odors from the refinishing work,” says Ludwig. “Every time we would get the work done, there would be complaints. So, we have eliminated this source of smells and VOCs. We do have an occasional wood door that needs repair, but we have reduced our need for that service by 95%.”

And in addition to enhancing natural light, more extensive use of glass as well as stone wall and surface panels further reduced maintenance. This also eliminated VOCs and improved the interior work environment.

A Kinder, Safer Facility

As the project team worked diligently to make the new headquarters the best it could be for employees and clients alike, the reconfiguration of reception and hospitality spaces led to the need to change the way those services were staffed. Previously, reception areas were located on each of the firm’s 16 floors. And, while there were several conference rooms on each practice floor in the new space, Ludwig explains that much of this function was consolidated in the new headquarters.

This consolidation took the form of a conference center on the 16th floor. This center consists of 13 conference rooms equipped with an audiovisual and teleconferencing infrastructure. Additionally, reception areas were consolidated from one on each floor into a single main reception area on the 16th floor.

As these spaces took shape, Ludwig began to realize that staffing would need to change as well. “I got the idea to create a hospitality services department because of the conference center,” he explains. “To function well, the high use center needed daily management and upkeep. Additionally, we have the conference rooms on the practice group floors, and I knew they would need more looking after as well.

“Due to being so involved in the planning of each phase of creating this new space,” he continues, “I realized that the dynamic was going to be quite a bit different from that in our former space and that the staff would need to deployed very differently.”

This involved transitioning floor attendants (who maintained the breakrooms on each floor) from the facilities department to the new hospitality services department. And, the conference center coordinator (responsible for group meal functions) was moved from office services to the new hospitality services department.

The receptionists were also shifted into the newly created department. Notes Ludwig, “Although we have only one main reception area now, we have 12 receptionists, and we use all of them somewhere. For instance, there are two on staff in the building [main] lobby at all times.”

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Positioning two people in the ground floor lobby was part of another strategy—improved security. Ludwig explains that the previous headquarters building was relatively “porous” in that there were three or more entry points on each floor, and not all were visible to receptionists.

“We had the unfortunate situation, as do a lot of businesses today, where we were occasionally visited by office creepers,” he says. (An office creeper is an individual who dresses as a “typical” employee of an organization or service provider to infiltrate the facility with theft as a goal.)

In order to strengthen the front lines, the committee implemented a different approach to physical security. On the ground floor in the main lobby, two King & Spalding receptionists are positioned alongside a general building receptionist and a security officer.

A visitor must check in with the firm at the lobby reception desk, be entered into a computer system, and receive a name badge. The visitor is then announced via telephone to the appropriate King & Spalding attorney or employee. Once through the security bollards and out of the elevator onto the desired floor, the visitor must be met at the elevator lobby and admitted, through locked glass doors, into the firm’s office space by the person he or she is visiting. In the previous space, a visitor could access every floor in the firm by simply taking the elevator there.

“We also have all deliveries go up in the freight elevators, which are located near the loading dock,” says Ludwig. “When those elevators arrive in our space, the delivery people have to be let out of the vestibule onto the floor, and they only have access to a small area on one floor.”

Seizing The Opportunity

Presented with the opportunity to create a facility that would meet the evolving needs of the firm, Ludwig and the team were able to benefit from being involved from the start. The result has been an aesthetically pleasing setting that provides a more flexible and secure space.

“There are a lot of things to take into consideration when you’re planning for a space that will be used long term,” says Ludwig. “You have to be very thoughtful, very deliberate, do a lot of research, and really try to think through countless variables and concepts so that you (hopefully) don’t overlook anything.

“It takes a lot of time, effort, talent, and just plain hard work” he adds. “All of this is very much a collaborative effort. ”

This article was based on an interview with Ludwig, as well as existing literature on the project.

To share your new construction or renovation story, send an e-mail to avazquez@groupc.com. Past Showcase features can be found on the Web at TodaysFacilityManager.com.

To discuss some of your interesting experiences come to FacilityBlog! The address is www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/facilityblog.

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