The rush of Big Law firms to Miami is starting to get serious. Now, the largest firm in the world by revenue, Kirkland & Ellis, is opening its first office in the city, joining a number of other professional-services companies aiming to cater to an ever-growing contingent of finance and technology companies by expanding into the region.
Kirkland’s new Miami home, the 55-story, 640,000 square foot 830 Brickell, has already attracted the likes of Blackstone, Microsoft, and Thoma Bravo.
Developed by OKO Group and Cain International, the new office building is now fully leased ahead of its completion, scheduled for the end of the year; and when Kirkland moves in, it will become one of the largest law-firm tenants in Miami. The firm’s lease is for 115,000 square feet across six floors.
Big Law firms Sidley Austin and Winston & Strawn, which along with Kirkland are among the top 50 largest firms in America, have also signed leases at 830 Brickell.
“This is the largest, most valuable lease, when you look at square footage coupled with the rent that we’re getting on the building,” said Brian Gale, a vice chairman at Cushman and Wakefield, which represented the landlords in the deal. “It really just shows higher demand.”
According to third-quarter data from Jones Lang LaSalle, the global commercial real estate company, rents at 830 Brickell range from $125 to $150 per square foot. This is significantly higher than the average $81 per square foot asking rate in New York. For the price tag, lessees will have access to a bevy of amenities in the building, including a health and wellness center, an outdoor terrace, and a rooftop bar and restaurant with views of the picturesque Biscayne Bay.
Miami’s warm weather, business-friendly environment, and large talent pool have seemed to be a significant draw for major finance, law, and tech firms of late — and this migration has become increasingly pronounced over the past two years of the pandemic, with firms like Citadel earlier this year announcing the relocation of its headquarters to Miami from Chicago, and investment firm Pretium Partners recently revealing plans to open an office in nearby Miami Beach.
In response to this mass migration, accounting, communications, and legal companies have been searching for space of their own in the region in order to better serve their clients there.
