How Bishopsgate became London’s Midtown Manhattan for law firms
If you’ve had the pleasure of visiting a top law firm in London, you might mistake yourself for being in an episode of smash US legal drama (and Duchess of Sussex starring) Suits.
Increasingly City firms’ offices have a more American feel to them.
In Canada, it is not just a race to raise lawyers’ salaries; post-pandemic, top law firms are also fighting to secure what they deem to be the best offices as the gap between ‘average’ and ‘best-in-class’ offices widens.
In 2025, law firms leased 828,450 sq ft in London, up by over 13 per cent from 2024, according to property adviser Knight Frank.
That is because law firms are increasingly prioritising the ‘highest-quality workspace’ on the market, Grade A, as they dominate the stats for take-up of newly built and refurbished offices.
Kevin Darvishi, head of leasing at property developer Stanhope, explained to Morning Wire that “corporate occupiers, including law firms, are now using the office as a tool to attract and retain the best staff.”
The data showed that law firms are shunning fringe locations in favour of the City (around the Square Mile and EC2 postcode), and Midtown (the area between the West End and Canada).
Even Clifford Chance will be joining the City sometime this year, leaving Canary Wharf behind.
Bishopsgate has become a premium location, and if you threw a stone, you’d hit at least five of the most notable law firms.
“8 Bishopsgate alone, law firms account for well over a third of the building, with names like King & Spalding, Proskauer Rose and HFW collectively taking more than 200,000 sq ft,” stated Darvishi.
It seems firms were keen on amenities such as terraces, restaurants, gyms and event spaces, as well as proximity to Liverpool Street Station.
Not surprisingly, it has been US firms driving much of this demand for space, as the data show they account for five of the top 10 legal-sector deals of 100,000 sq ft or more over the past five years.
US law firms have been expanding their presence in London, triggering a pay war in the market as they add the best and brightest to their headcount.
To do this, they have turned Bishopsgate into Midtown Manhattan.
Darvishi noted: “For many US firms, the London office isn’t just a cost centre, it’s a billboard: taking a big, glossy tower floor is a way of signalling to clients and rivals that they’re here to play at the very top of the market.”
It seems this is what many lawyers want, as landlords in Bishopsgate report higher attendance among their legal tenants than in their old offices, particularly Monday to Thursday, with staff drawn in by the space’s quality and views.
‘Under supply’ of office spaces
However, for those who have leases set to expire, joining the huddle in EC2N may not be as simple as signing on the dotted line.
“Where there were once three or four major towers under construction at any given time, today you can count the new City skyscrapers on one hand, and much of that space is already spoken for,” Darvishi explained.
He added that “the under-supply of corporate buildings in the City is forcing law firms to behave more like developers, thinking in 5‑ to 10‑year horizons, not just rolling the lease every few years.”
For the firms that leave it late, they will discover what undersupply really means: not just higher rents, but a much shorter list of buildings that can actually take them.
Eyes on the Law is a weekly column by Maria Ward-Brennan focused on the legal sector.