Eversheds Sutherland's Austin office. Courtesy photo

To accommodate growth in Austin, Eversheds Sutherland lawyers moved into new space on Monday in the San Jacinto Center, a building located in the middle of downtown overlooking the Colorado River with easy access to the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail. Location and office amenities were top of the list when the firm selected the building for the new office, which has space for more than double the 15 lawyers on-site in Austin, said Nash Zogaib, Austin office managing partner. The building, located at 98 San Jacinto Blvd., is close to the convention center, highways and clients and state agencies, and the firm's 16th-floor offices have "great views," he said. The 21,000-square-foot office, encompassing an entire floor, provides collaborative workspaces, upgraded technology, a wellness room and a mother's room. The building also has a "state-of-the-art" gym on the first floor, Zogaib said. The office will accommodate 33 lawyers, and even more if lawyers are hoteling. However, Zogaib said the firm has been operating on schedule calling for three days a week in the office and two worked remotely, and lawyers are not hoteling. The global firm's relocation into larger space is on point for trends for law firm office space. A new report from Savills found that about 42.5% of relocations and renewals in the first half of the year have been expansions, driven in part by growth in lawyer counts. Eversheds Sutherland, which launched its Austin office in 1993, will add lawyers to the Austin team, Zogaib said, but the firm isn't targeting any specific practice areas for hiring. Client needs will dictate the growth, he said. The firm sees great potential for the Austin market, Zogaib said, due to the strength of the technology industry, and the number of companies moving their headquarters to the Texas capital city. The firm has lawyers in Austin in a number of practices including cybersecurity, intellectual property, litigation, employment law and energy, he said. In conjunction with the firm's Houston office, the firm has a significant energy regulatory and energy transition practice in Texas.