Haynes and Boone Austin offices. Courtesy photo

With a "strong desire" to stay in downtown Austin, Haynes and Boone moved its Austin team into new space in San Jacinto Center that provides scenic views and collaborative spaces, and will accommodate significant growth. Austin is not the firm's only new office. Following the industry trend, as firms adapt to post-pandemic office needs, Haynes and Boone also moved this year into new space in Dallas where the firm was founded, and into new offices in Denver and Mexico City, both in 2022. The Am Law 100 firm currently has 30 lawyers in the new Austin office, along with two or three who work in other offices but spend time in Austin, but there is room in the new single-floor office for 50 lawyers and business professionals, said Adam Sencenbaugh, Austin office managing partner. The firm, formerly in 600 Congress, started the hunt for new space about 18 months ago, Sencenbaugh said, with a priority of staying in downtown Austin, where the firm has been located since it launched in the Texas Capital 28 years ago. The move provided the opportunity to get newer space with a "more modern aesthetic, more open spaces, more light, a more inviting space," he said. After signing a lease a year ago, Sencenbaugh said, a committee of people from the office worked with architects who wanted to know how the firm intended to use the space. One important change is square footage allocated in the past to now-unneeded file areas is devoted to collaborative spaces in the new office, he said. Features in the San Jacinto Center office include a number of conference rooms, a high use of glass and modern technology that allows lawyers to easily access the firm's network, and video conferencing capabilities. The building also has a fitness center on the ground floor. The private offices all have views of downtown or Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir formerly known as Town Lake. The lawyers and staff enjoy the location right on the lake and the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, which Sencenbaugh said is a "crown jewel" of the city. The trail is so convenient, he said, that he runs every day. "It's a great space to sort of walk out the door and be right on the lake, sit on a bench, or take a walk," he said, noting that the fall foliage makes it especially pretty this time of year. The technology in the new office allows lawyers to plug in their computer, and then have access to the firm's network, which makes it easy to travel among offices, he said. The sound and lighting in the office is improved from the old space, and is better suited for the use of technology. The firm likes its lawyers in the office at least three days a week, Sencenbaugh said, and attendance has been up since the move at the end of November. "It's really a big boost of morale," he said. "The older space had much less glass, more closed–off areas, and that created a little bit more separation between lawyers and staff. In the new space, you feel more connected because of the glass. I've already seen people talking more, and more collaboration." The main conference room opens up into a reception space that also connects to a break room and kitchen with cafe-style seating and banquettes — equipped with a fancy coffee machine and cold brew on tap, he said. "We anticipate using that for all kinds of in-office events, client events," Sencenbaugh said, noting that clients have already requested a July 4 event, since the office has a 15th-floor view of the annual fireworks display.