Construction slowdown has Atlanta businesses considering signing leases years before moving

Law firms are considering leasing new office space in Atlanta up to three years before their current leases end, as they plan to compete for new, increasingly scarce “quality” space amid lowest office construction in a decade, new report says.

According to commercial real estate brokerage JLL’s new “Law Firm Perspective” report, 34 Am Law 100 firms occupy 2.2 million square feet of space in the Atlanta market. By 2028, about 2.8 million square feet of law firm leases are expected to expire in Atlanta, but only 2.1 million square feet of new product is currently under construction, the report said.