As Big Law grows in New York, several Am Law 50 firms this year have been seeking additional office space in Manhattan, backing up a trend seen nationally of booming leasing activity in the legal industry. In New York, Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin Procter and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &Garrison all grew office space in the second quarter of 2025, according to market research by commercial real estate firm Cresa.
Kirkland & Ellis leased a 131,000 square-foot new office on Third Avenue—in addition to its existing location on Lexington Avenue, according to Cresa. A spokesperson for Kirkland & Ellis confirmed
the firm was expanding into an additional office and said the new location was added “in response to our growth and anticipated future needs.”
Between the two locations, the firm has almost 1 million square feet under lease in New York, a spokesperson said.
Paul Weiss, which announced in December 2023 that it was moving its headquarters to 1345 Avenue of the Americas, signed for an additional 84,000 square feet this year at the same address, bringing that office to 850,000 square feet, according to the Cresa report. A Paul Weiss representative declined to comment.
Goodwin Procter added close to 30,000 square feet to its total office space when it relocated to Fifth Avenue in Midtown South, for a total of 244,453 square feet, making it the largest new lease of the second quarter per Cresa's report. Representatives for Goodwin Procter did not respond to requests for comment.
Gregg Cohen, Cresa’s principal, said in an interview that all of the office expansions in New York have created obstacles for other firms seeking more space.
“Large firms in New York who are looking to grow can't grow within the buildings that they're currently in, which is causing the need to look outside of their buildings,” Cohen said.
Overall, for the second quarter of 2025, 19 law firms signed leases for about 1.2 million square feet of office space, which is more than double the amount signed in the first quarter, according to Cresa.