Overall office leasing gained momentum in 2025. Within that sector, legal space leases broke records, reaching 18.8 million square feet according to Cushman & Wakefield’s “Legal Sector Leasing Trends.”
The report said that law firm leasing in 2025 was 32% higher than activity in 2019. As such, “the legal sector remains a significant part of growing office demand, accounting for 8% of total major market leasing activity,” Cushman & Wakefield analysts said.
Additional facts from the report include the following:
- Renewals outpaced new leases for the first time since Q2 2025, due to shrinking construction pipelines.
- While 40% of leases involved expansions, downsizing with new leases remained common.
- 34 leases over 75,000 square feet were signed, well above the five-year average.
- The largest 25 law firms (by gross revenue) remained in the top 10 U.S. legal markets, including New York City (39%), the D.C. metro (17%) and Chicago (11%).
The Cushman & Wakefield analysts predicted that 2026 will be another strong year for legal leasing demand. Law firms began 2026 actively looking for space. “In markets with lower construction pipelines, look for firms to fall back on renewing in place to a greater degree,” the report added.
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