As the elevator doors open to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe's new Los Angeles office, it's immediately clear the firm took inspiration from its base of innovative tech clients. The entryway to the 26,500-square-foot office is bold and dramatic, with Orrick's logo illuminated among dark gray walls that gleam in the light from nearby floor-to-ceiling windows and abstract fixtures overhead. "It's one of my favorite places in the office," said Alyssa Caridis, a Los Angeles-based partner who led the design project. "It doesn't feel like a traditional law firm office, and it shouldn't. That's not who our clients are." The office at 355 S. Grand Ave. in downtown Los Angeles, designed by Unispace, features a mix of private and client-facing collaboration spaces, accompanied by plenty of art, pops of color, natural light, and sweeping views of the city and the iconic Hollywood sign. Just beyond the entryway, there are two murals that anchor the art collection, painted by Los Angeles mural artist Robert Vargas, which reflect Orrick's longtime partnership with A New Way of Life (ANWOL), a community group that helps formerly incarcerated women reincorporate back into society. Other pieces throughout the space carry themes of diversity and inclusion, for instance, celebrating the African American and LGBTQ+ communities, and sustainability. It's all part of a firmwide initiative dubbed "Art for Impact," which Orrick chief operations officer Laura Saklad described as "a physical manifestation of our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging." "We're being intentional about the selection of art to engender those feelings of inclusion for people who work in the space every day," she said. The artwork and the splashes of color—some offices have pale purple walls, others light green—are "helpful, psychologically," Caridis added. "You're not spending the day in a white box."

Reimaging the Workplace

The new office—where the firm plans to stay until 2034—is about 54% smaller than Orrick's old office, despite a 12% increase in head count in the past two years. All told, the firm counts 67 lawyers including 20 partners in Los Angeles. Recent arrivals include a four-partner IP litigation team from Milbank, Caridis said has "hit the ground running" is contributing to what was already an incredibly busy IP litigation docket. Orrick also welcomed energy and infrastructure partner Julia Balas, tech employment partner Christina Bouchot and a two-partner trial team from Baker & Hostetler, all in 2022. Going through the decision-making process for the new office, Caridis said the focus was on how to "reimagine the workplace" rather than return to work. "We're not trying to go back to the way things were," she said. "Some people like to come in a lot because they concentrate better in the office. Some people split their time between our downtown office and our Santa Monica office. Other people don't live close enough to commute and that is fine too." Orrick hired remote attorneys before the pandemic, and has every intention of continuing to do so, she said. But for those that want to come in, the new Los Angeles office features individual offices with glass walls that let natural light in, but also provide a quiet, private space to work. The firm settled on private offices after conducting extensive surveys that went beyond typical partner and programmatic interviews, seeking feedback from attorneys and administrative staff, according to Unispace design principal Marianne Weiss, who worked on the project. Weiss described Orrick as an "enlightened and progressive client" that sought to create an "inherently inclusive" and sustainable space, incorporating several firmwide goals. "One thing that everybody talked about was the fact that they needed time for focus work and that they weren't able to achieve that in open planning [or an open floor concept]," Weiss said. While some partners who frequent the office have an assigned office space, Caridis said all of the offices are compatible with hoteling and are set up so that groups of attorneys can reserve rooms near each other. Another unique design feature was the decision to poke holes in the perimeter of the office for various collaboration spaces, from conference and meeting rooms to more casual lounges furnished with plush chairs and sofas. After trying the space out for a few months, Weiss said Orrick reported that junior associates appreciated the collaboration spaces. "As opposed to a junior standing in a partner's office doorway and asking questions, they now have spaces that truly support mentorship and learning," she said. The firm is also pursuing LEED GOLD and WELL certifications for the office, as part of its firmwide sustainability goal and aim to prioritize health and well-being in the workplace by incorporating natural light, plants and water stations. Last but not least, the office features its own café, which Caridis said doubles as an all-hands meeting space with video conferencing, and is the perfect setting for a new tradition at Orrick in Los Angeles: Taco Tuesday.