Manhattan's West Side is now home to another law firm, as McKool Smith opened its new office for business this week. The litigation firm relocated to One Manhattan West on Monday in the Hudson Yards district. At 64,000 square feet, the new office is nearly double the size of the firm's previous space at One Bryant Park, the firm's outpost in the city for the last 12 years. David Sochia, McKool Smith's managing principal, said the new space represented the firm's continued growth in the city. McKool was founded in Dallas in 1991. "We started [in New York] with one lawyer in 2007, and a little over a decade later that office has become the largest office in the firm," he said, noting that 60 of the firm's 160 attorneys are based in the New York office, which has the capacity to fit nearly 100. One Manhattan West is a 67-story, 2.1 million-square-foot building sitting at 9th Avenue and 33rd Street, near Penn Station, and is the first building to be completed in Brookfield Property Partners' Manhattan West development project, which is adjacent to the Hudson Yards redevelopment project. McKool Smith signed a 15-year lease and occupies the 50th and 51st floors of One Manhattan West. "This is sort of a marquee office for us now," Sochia said. "With just 160 lawyers, we compete with the best of the best. We think the future is pretty bright. Manhattan is the legal capital of the world, and for that reason, we think [the new office] can bring success." Sochia said the firm worked with architects at Gensler to design the new space, which he described as modern and timeless: "Our goal was timeless and classic, and if you walk in the doors in 10 years, it wouldn't look outdated." Additionally, he said all attorneys and staff had an opportunity to collaborate on what they wanted the new space to be like. The office's four new collaborative spaces, which are located on both floors, feature banquettes, coffee bars, booths, seating overlooking the Hudson River and TVs mounted on the wall. "We want to encourage people to get up, move about and collaborate more so than in traditional law firm offices," Sochia said. McKool Smith is the most recent in a slew of firms swarming to the West Side. McKool Smith will share One Manhattan West with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which is expected to move upon its 2020 lease expiration at 4 Times Square. Meanwhile, Cravath will leave its Worldwide Plaza, where it has been located since 1989, to occupy Two Manhattan West in 2024. Across 10th Avenue, Milbank, Boies Schiller Flexner and Cooley have moved into 55 Hudson Yards. |

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