Law Firm Leasing Activity Jumps 300% In Boston, With Momentum Expected To Continue

As Boston's office market continues to gradually recover from the pandemic, a flurry of law firms with workers back in the office and upcoming lease expirations are driving deal activity. 

The law firm sector during the year ending in May signed around 800K SF of leases in Boston, representing 332% demand growth from the prior year, according to Avison Young.

And Avison Young U.S. Office Agency Lead Tucker White said he expects this momentum to continue in the coming years, based on the number of law firms with lease expirations.  

"Just the perfect story of lease expiration dates coming up, which has resulted in a lot of these landlords all competing for the legal sector at the moment," White said. "The legal industry has also seen strong return-to-office metrics, which help support less downsizing."

There are 13 law firms actively on the market today with office requirements of more than 20K SF, according to Avison Young.

Many of these law firms entered the Boston market in the five years before the pandemic to meet the needs of growing sectors like life sciences and technology in search of specialized attorneys, White said. And the firms often signed seven-to-10-year leases that have begun to expire this year and are set to continue to expire in the years ahead.

The Boston market has 62 law firms with lease expirations between 2026 and 2028 that have yet to sign new leases, representing 1.6M SF of demand, according to Avison Young.

Fifty-eight of those firms occupy 50K SF or less, a segment that White says typically signs leases around 12 months before the expiration. Thirty-five of the expirations are in trophy or Class-A space, with 27 in Class-B space. 

"Some of the law firms, especially the proactive in getting the deal done, there's been a lot of renewals probably done earlier or in a longer time frame just so they could get a better rate with the market softening at the moment and creating leverage a little bit earlier," White said. 

Law firm office renewals have made up more than 70% of the Boston office market's activity in 2025, according to Avison Young. Firms that signed leases this year include Barnes & Thornburg, Sidley Austin, Nutter McClennen & Fish, and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

In December, Jones Day signed a 41K SF lease at South Station Tower. That same month, Ropes & Gray — the largest law firm in the state — renewed and expanded its 413K SF lease at BXP's Prudential Tower in the Back Bay.

Ropes & Gray in 2023 mandated that staff come back to the office four days a week, with other law firms following its lead and sticking to a hybrid work schedule to get attorneys back to the office, the Boston Business Journal reported.

"Law firm-oriented workers are coming back to the office more so than some other sectors, and that has led to a lot less downsizing and being proactive with lease negotiations and getting to the market," White said.

Other markets, including Washington, D.C., have seen a similar bump in activity from law firms as they look to sign deals years ahead of their expiration.

With more than 60 leases set to expire in the next three years and many of them looking for space now or soon, White said the momentum these firms are creating for Boston's office leasing market should continue.

"It'll at least continue for the next few years," White said. "Law firms are going to maintain a strong segment of lease activity moving forward."