Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is one of the latest Big Law firms swapping offices or building new ones in Washington, D.C., having formally completed a move into new offices on K Street in May. In the last year, there's been a parade of firms moving or making plans to occupy new space on Pennsylvania Avenue or in the Wharf, the waterfront neighborhood along the Potomac River in southwest D.C. But Tony Pierce, the partner in charge of Akin Gump's D.C. office, said the firm never considered the Wharf or options on the west end of D.C. Pierce said the firm looked just about everywhere else, however, including downtown in City Center, buildings on north Capitol Street, and a building close to the firm's former home at 1333 New Hampshire Ave. in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Ultimately, the partnership chose a new building about one half-mile south of its former Dupont Circle offices, closer to George Washington University in Foggy Bottom. "One of the drivers of that was where our folks come from," Pierce said. "With commuting [being] such a nightmare in the city, getting from the suburbs, we looked at where most people were coming from, and most people were coming from north and west of the city." Akin Gump is now the dominant tenant of 2001 K Street, occupying the top four commercial floors, along with some external entertainment and work space, in the 13-story building. The new offices house close to 240 lawyers and 40 advisers, and the firm said the total number of lawyers and staff exceeds 500. The new K Street office opened its doors for business May 6, but some information technology-focused employees entered the space ahead of the firm's lawyers and advisers. Partner offices are smaller than in the old building, now 195 square feet compared to 225 square feet, but they have greater exposure to natural light. Counsel and associate offices are roughly the same size at 130 square feet. Junior associates' offices are on the interiors of the floors, while partners and some senior associates and counsel line the windows. Pierce said the new building met the firm's priorities: more light; more open, inviting spaces and glass offices; and a smaller footprint that would still leave the firm room to grow. He said the firm chose not to renovate its old building because it would not have provided the collaborative space Akin Gump desired. The construction requirements for a renovation project would have encroached upon the existing offices, he said, leaving the firm's lawyers with little room to maneuver during the transition. Steptoe & Johnson LLP, another Big Law resident of the Dupont Circle neighborhood, temporarily moved into a swing space in Akin Gump's former building while Steptoe's own offices underwent renovations, meaning Akin Gump was able to watch another firm handle a renovation too. The firm's Capitol Hill satellite office, meanwhile, formally opened its doors in March after beginning to provide a base for Akin Gump lobbyists to do business last fall. "As a lobbying firm, we also had our lobbyists wanting to be closer to Capitol Hill because it's kind of hard to have a fundraising event or some meet-and-greet all the way [in] Dupont Circle, even though we've been there 40 years, right?" Pierce said. "They were interested in having some space, so one of the things I did was get them space on Capitol Hill. It's event space." In order to make the main K Street offices look like home for all of its employees, Akin Gump's art committee settled on a look that the firm described as warm-and-white with splashes of color. The firm said it solicited input from staff at all levels, from secretaries to top partners, in coming up with the design scheme. When visitors enter Akin Gump's offices, they will notice an orange, red and blue mural on a white wall to the left of the reception desk, reflecting the chosen palette. The mural was installed by Carson Fox, an artist from Brooklyn, New York. As the firm moved out of its old offices, it gathered office supplies and other leftover materials for charities in D.C.