Winter 2026 Law Firm Perspective

Law firms navigated unprecedented market dynamics in 2025 as limited large-block availability drove record-high rents across America’s top legal markets. As firms are increasingly weighing the cost of staying in place against the shrinking inventory of quality alternatives, renewal activity picked up – representing over 60% of law firm transactions. JLL’s January 2026 Law Firm Perspective examines leasing patterns, pricing trends and availability metrics across 12 major U.S. markets, providing strategic intelligence for law firm leaders nationally.

Key items of note for markets include:

• Ropes and Gray elected to extend their 413,000 s.f lease at 800 Boylston.
• Century City renewal transactions dominated with 74.4% of firms choosing to renew
• New York’s top tier vacancy drops to the lowest level of any major market at 6.0%
• San Francisco’s view space rebounded achieving rental rates up to $135/s.f
• Washington, DC bucked the national trend, with 70% of law firms choosing to relocate