Perkins Coie Austin office. Courtesy photo

Two years after launching its Austin office, Perkins Coie has moved into a permanent space designed for post-pandemic collaboration, and large enough to allow the firm to double its lawyer head count in Austin. The new office is on a full floor in the 405 Colorado building in downtown Austin. Growing from three lawyers in February 2020, the Am Law 100 firm has 19 lawyers in Austin, but the new space will accommodate about twice as many, said Jose Villarreal, managing partner of the Austin office. Villarreal said collaborative space is emphasized in the office, with a significant number of conference rooms, meeting rooms and areas within the lobby area. Following recent trends, all private lawyer offices are the same size, floor-to-ceiling windows provide light and scenic views, and the office provides hoteling options for lawyers who prefer to split their time between the office and their home office. Other features include a meditation and wellness room and a mother's room. The firm, which moved into Texas in 2010 in Dallas, opened its Austin office in temporary space in February 2020, right before the pandemic resulted in lawyers and staff working remotely. The firm didn't immediately find the kind of space it wanted for a permanent office. "We made the decision to go ahead with some of the newer construction right around when the pandemic was starting. At that time, people thought it might be three or four or five weeks. As it turned out, it did give us the opportunity to build it like we wanted," he said. Villarreal expects a "significant portion" of lawyers will choose to spend only part of their time in the office, so with hoteling, the office can accommodate 40 to 45 lawyers. "We are waiting to see where the chips fall, as well as usage," he said. He expects the firm to continue to hire in Austin in key areas including intellectual property, on both the litigation and patent prosecution sides; corporate, venture capital and M&A; as well as technology and health care transactions. "We would be happy to continue to add to those areas," he said. "Having said that, if we find the right match of talent that's maybe tech-focused, or life sciences–focused that we can add to other practices, it would certainly be considered."