Reed Smith will move out of two floors in its London office at the end of 2018, following a review of its City real estate requirements.

The US firm is relinquishing 26,266 sq ft of space in its Broadgate Tower base, following an assessment of its London real estate strategy last year.

The review followed the firm's formalisation of an agile working policy in London, which allowed all City personnel to take a more ad hoc approach to varying their hours and work location. At the time, London managing partner Andrew Jenkinson said the firm would assess its real estate requirements as a result.

Following the move, the firm will occupy 10 floors within the building, down from 12. Reed Smith London headcount currently stands at 632.

Jenkinson said: "We are constantly evaluating our use of real estate in line with changing working styles among our lawyers and business services professionals. We continue to look at how we can make smarter and more dynamic use of our space to complement other initiatives we're taking, such as introducing our agile working policy in 2017."

The decision comes as the firm readies to open its Leeds-based legal services centre next month.

The base, its second low-cost offering since its Pittsburgh opening in 2003, will initially launch with 45 roles. Those will consist of 15 new legal roles and 30 business service positions, filling existing vacancies in the business.

The office has room for about 100 positions, with Reed Smith set to assess growth opportunities in the future.

The firm will work to an "attrition model", assessing any vacant roles when they become available as to whether they can be filled in Leeds. It will continue to hire for business service positions in London.

Other international law firms to have launched northern legal service hubs in recent years include Clifford Chance, which acquired the Newcastle-based legal services arm of collapsed construction giant Carillion earlier this year.

Photo: Flickr, Alexander Baxevanis