BOSTON–Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP announced the opening of its new office in Boston at Exchange Place, 53 State Street in the heart of the financial district.
The location reflects Hinshaw’s long term commitment to downtown Boston, to Massachusetts and to a growing New England practice. The new space expands the firm’s footprint in the city to provide room for further growth and to enhance conference and collaborative space designed to provide our clients and the community with the best of Hinshaw’s services.
“At 25 attorneys we have every intention of growing,” said Samuel Bodurtha, partner-in-charge of Hinshaw’s Boston office. “We have experienced significant growth in the consumer financial services sector, a robust professional services practice, and a burgeoning products liability practice to match the firm’s sweet spots,” he noted. “This office location, with its progressive use of workspace design and technology assisted client service, gives us the platform we need to grow our team and solidify our presence in greater Boston area.”
Locating the office at Exchange Place situates Hinshaw with easy access to state courts, the United States Bankruptcy Court, federal District Court and First Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as to Boston’s major transportation centers. These include Logan Airport, South Station, which connects Boston by rail to commuter centers in Massachusetts, Providence, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Washington, D.C. and points south; and North Station, which connects the city to northern New England.
Hinshaw moved with deliberate speed in a heated commercial real estate market—bucking what is traditionally a multi-year process—to locate a new building, sign the lease and build out the space in just nine months. The firm accomplished this aggressive move by applying the same relocation template Hinshaw adopted in a recent move of its Chicago headquarters, using the same architect, design firm and many of the same design choices. The firm hired a general contractor that had worked with Exchange Place’s owner and had successfully built other floors with ease and success. Hinshaw’s team also worked closely with Chicago partner-in-charge Diane Webster to replicate many aspects of the firm’s new Chicago office.
The decision on location was driven by one major priority—firm partners recognized the importance of remaining downtown despite the cost of competing in a frenzied market. “The impetus to stay downtown is a business reality for law firms that want to attract next generation talent,” Bodurtha noted. “I don’t think there is one partner in the firm who currently lives in the city,” he said. “But many of our associates do and they use public transportation to get to work. This downtown location provides them with the accessibility and convenience they need.”
Staying in the financial district also was important for other reasons. “Our Boston office operates as the firm’s hub for all of our work in New England,” said Bodurtha. “We regularly host lawyers traversing the Northeast region on client business and this location and the proximity to clients it provides is very attractive.”
Nonetheless, moving the office in such a short period of time proved to be a challenge. Bodurtha had only been serving as partner in charge of the Boston office for seven months when the firm initiated the move process.
“This was a real push for us. We had to move quickly, we had to prioritize our needs and goals, and execute on the plan thoughtfully but with no hesitation,” he said.
The new office includes current state of the art components in law firm design to accommodate the changing needs of lawyers today. The office increased space for collaboration and client meetings, with a conference area including six conference rooms for meetings of varying sizes and for breakout sessions. Recognizing Hinshaw’s practice as a collaborative effort, the office reduces the average size of individual attorney offices and in turn increases the number of case rooms and work rooms disbursed throughout the floor.
“The new space was designed with an eye toward the future, and particularly to accommodate the next generation of Hinshaw attorneys,” said Bodurtha. “It’s also a statement about how much we appreciate being part of the Boston community, and of our commitment to contribute to this community for many years to come.”
