Linklaters will reduce its New York office space by almost 15 percent next year, as the firm leaves its current Manhattan home after 21 years.

It will move a stone's throw from its current 107,000 square foot office at 1345 Sixth Avenue, its home since 1998, to a 91,168 square foot base over four floors in the AXA Financial Center at 1290 Sixth Avenue.

Linklaters signed the new 15-year lease this month and a firm spokesperson said the new office space will cost $84 per square foot. 

A firm spokesperson said that although the total footprint of the firm is decreasing, the usable space in the new office will be larger – partly because of a "vast" lobby area in the current office.

"In relocating our New York office, we are seeking to provide our colleagues [with] a modern, state-of-the-art space that will foster greater collaboration," Linklaters U.S. practice head Tom Shropshire said in a statement. "It will be a flexible and adaptable environment that will provide a strong, connected community and encourage creative, team-oriented problem-solving."

In the last five years, at least 11 partners have left the firm's U.S. practice, according to ALM's research tool Legal Compass. 

In 2017, the firm's U.S. practice head Scott Bowie left the firm after two years into his term, while former co-managing partner Jeff Norton left for Dechert, and U.S. financial regulations head Robin Maxwell also departed.

The firm has rebuilt through a series of promotions and lateral hires, but has not expanded much further. In 2014, its partner head count in the office stood at 21; now it is 24. Total fee-earner head count has also seen minimal growth, increasing from 117 to 123.

Meanwhile, the firm's Washington, D.C. office has expanded from six to 19 fee earners since 2014, including eight partners.