Legal organizations are navigating one of the most complex real estate environments in decades. Hybrid work, rising operational costs, and rapid digital transformation are reshaping how legal teams use space.
Many firms now face a pivotal question: Is our current office footprint still the right fit?
For a growing number of legal departments and law firms, consolidation is no longer just a cost‑saving measure—it’s becoming a strategic necessity. Shifts in work patterns, rising operational pressures, and the demand for greater efficiency are pushing organizations to reassess whether their current office footprint still makes sense.
Key takeaways
- Legal office footprints are becoming misaligned with modern work patterns, especially with cyclical litigation demands
- Fragmented systems limit visibility, making it difficult to evaluate consolidation opportunities
- Cost and compliance pressures are intensifying, pushing firms to right‑size their space
- Data‑driven consolidation delivers measurable ROI, from reduced square footage to improved compliance reporting
Signal #1 — Volatile workspace utilization
Legal work is inherently cyclical. Trial preparation, confidential witness meetings, and intense collaboration periods create sudden spikes in space demand. Between these peaks, large portions of the office often sit idle.
Eptura explores this challenge in Workspace Allocation for Litigation Teams: Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners, which shows how litigation teams experience dramatic swings in space needs and why flexible, data‑driven workspace strategies are essential. The article highlights how traditional static allocations often leave firms paying for space they don’t consistently use.
This volatility creates two major risks:
- Idle space that drains budgets
- Inflexible layouts that can’t adapt to shifting case loads
Eptura’s platform directly addresses these issues. Serraview by Eptura and Eptura Workplace provide:
- Occupancy analytics that reveal true usage patterns
- Scenario planning tools to test consolidation options
- Visibility into peak‑period demand vs. everyday needs
Signal #2 — Fragmented systems and lack of data transparency
Many legal organizations still rely on disconnected spreadsheets, legacy systems, and manual processes to track occupancy, leases, and cost allocation. This fragmentation obscures the real story of how space is used—and what it costs.
Eptura’s article Stack Planning Under Constraints: Turning Complexity into Strategic Advantage illustrates how siloed systems make it nearly impossible to understand portfolio performance. When data lives in multiple places, leaders struggle to answer essential questions:
- Which locations are underperforming
- Where the firm is over‑allocated
- How lease obligations align with actual usage
Eptura’s real estate planning and space management solutions consolidate this information into a single source of truth. This aligns with broader industry trends highlighted in Legal Tech in 2026: Consolidation, Platforms, and Trust, which describes how legal organizations are moving toward unified platforms to improve efficiency and transparency.
Signal #3 — Escalating cost and compliance pressures
Operational costs continue to rise, and legal organizations face increasing scrutiny from clients and regulators. Maintaining oversized or inefficient office footprints only amplifies these pressures.
Real‑world examples of organizations that have used data‑driven consolidation to reduce costs and improve compliance. Highlights include:
- A major financial institution saving $11 million by shedding underutilized space
- Bank of Montreal consolidating 1.3 million sq. ft. while improving operational efficiency
Eptura’s Workplace Index research further demonstrates how organizations are using occupancy analytics to right‑size their portfolios and reduce operational overhead.
How Eptura supports legal office consolidation
Eptura provides a comprehensive ecosystem designed to help legal organizations evaluate, plan, and execute consolidation strategies with confidence.
Serraview by Eptura: Strategic Portfolio Optimization & Scenario Planning
Portfolio Optimization:
Serraview empowers legal real estate leaders to right-size their office footprint, reducing portfolio size by up to 25%. The platform centralizes real-time occupancy and utilization data from sensors, badge swipes, and Wi-Fi, enabling leaders to identify underused space and model consolidation scenarios with confidence.
Scenario Planning:
Legal teams can quickly model alternate floor plans, test various consolidation scenarios, and assess financial impact. Dynamic reporting and visual block-and-stack tools allow for rapid adaptation to changing business requirements, such as mergers, trial cycles, or new compliance mandates.
Long-Range Forecasting:
Serraview’s forecasting tools help legal organizations anticipate future space needs, align real estate with organizational goals, and support multi-phase consolidation plans. Integration with HR and financial systems ensures a single source of truth for strategic decision-making.
Eptura Workplace: Operational Space Management & Move Coordination
Space Planning & Management:
Eptura Workplace enables legal operations teams to visualize, update, and optimize floor plans and seating arrangements. The platform supports digital twins of office space, making it easy to map resources, assign employees, and instantly view layouts for each building.
Move Coordination:
Streamline office moves and relocations with automated workflows. Legal organizations can create move plans, assign tickets, and coordinate the relocation of people and equipment, reducing manual effort and minimizing disruption.
Day-to-Day Occupancy Insights:
Real-time occupancy data, integrated with third-party sensors, provides visibility into how spaces are used. Legal teams can track trends, adjust cleaning schedules, and ensure compliance with space utilization targets.
Eptura Engage: Employee Experience & Resource Booking
Intuitive Booking Tools:
Eptura Engage delivers a seamless experience for booking rooms, desks, and resources. Legal professionals can reserve confidential meeting spaces, coordinate team days, and access amenities with just a few clicks.
Efficiency in Consolidated Spaces:
Advanced features like AI-powered booking, automated check-in via badge swipe, and shift-based reservations ensure that every square foot is used efficiently. Employees can locate colleagues, view interactive floorplans, and receive workspace recommendations based on preferences and history.
Collaboration & Reporting:
Eptura Engage integrates with Microsoft 365, enabling legal teams to plan workweeks, coordinate meetings, and analyze space utilization trends. Detailed dashboards and Power BI templates provide actionable insights for ongoing optimization.
Summary of Impact for Legal Organizations
- Serraview: Drives strategic, data-driven consolidation decisions and long-term portfolio optimization
- Eptura Workplace: Delivers operational control, move management, and real-time occupancy insights for efficient execution
- Eptura Engage: Ensures employee experience and resource booking remain frictionless, supporting productivity in a consolidated footprint
These solutions work together to help legal offices reduce costs, improve space utilization, and accelerate consolidation with measurable results.
A smarter path forward for legal real estate
The evidence is impossible to ignore. Volatile utilization, fragmented systems, and rising cost pressures are signaling that traditional legal office footprints no longer match the realities of modern work. Firms that act now—using data rather than intuition—will be the ones best positioned to support hybrid teams, meet client expectations, and control long‑term real estate spend.
Eptura gives legal leaders the clarity and confidence to move decisively. With unified analytics, scenario planning, and integrated workplace tools, you can evaluate your footprint, model the impact of consolidation, and execute change without disrupting critical work.
If your organization is ready to turn signals into strategy, explore Eptura’s resources or request a tailored demo to begin your consolidation journey.
Frequently asked questions
By Amanda Meade
Amanda Meade is a content creator at Eptura, specializing in workplace experience, meeting productivity, and emerging trends in workspace planning and visitor management. With a background in content marketing and SEO, she crafts clear, actionable content that helps teams work smarter through in-office collaboration. Throughout her career, Amanda has worked across industries, including home services, healthcare, real estate, and SaaS, developing a unique ability to distill complex topics into practical insights.
