Redesigning Firm-Wide Support Functions

Recognizing in 2010 that Kaye Scholer's New York office lease would terminate in April 2015 after more than 50 years in the same building, firm members began studying whether and how to move certain firm-wide functions from its Manhattan office to an external operations center. Establishing such a center would result in a hybrid approach to support service deliver); with certain support functions continuing to reside in the practice offices based on the lawyers' legitimate need for physical proximity to that assistance (e.g., secretarial services and duplicating) while other services would be provided from a center in a lower-cost locale. In addition to reducing operating expenses, this presented an opportunity to take a fresh look at how services would be rendered. Everyone at the firm would have to learn how to work differently, using the latest technology to replace physical presence.

It would be a different model than what firm members were accustomed to but not one without precedent. For example, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe had established its global operations center in Wheeling, West Virginia, about 10 years earlier. More recently, WilmerHale had established one in Dayton, Ohio, and Pillsbury in Nashville, Tennessee. Firms like Squire Patton Boggs, Nixon Peabody and Proskauer Rose had established nearby off-site administrative centers over the years. In addition many large firms have out sourced support and commoditized legal functions such as duplicating, mail, records, reception, catering/conferencing, staff attorneys, litigation support and so on.

The Firm's Reasoning

Many people who have heard about Kaye Scholer's project assumed it was a real estate play; we expected to need about 25,000 square feet of space and expected to pay about $15 per square foot. Certainly the firm expected to save a significant amount of money in rent, but the concept was really about redesigning firm-wide functions and reducing compensation costs. Most of our affected personnel were based in the New York office, but the firm also had affected personnel in the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles offices. We also had a decentralized help desk function with those personnel working remotely from their homes. At best, coordinating among the geographic teams was strained, In addition, many of the staff had been with the firm for decades, and this provided an opportunity to redesign and update our procedures. Nearly all of the positions in the accounting...