ArentFox Schiff has expanded into larger space at Boston's Prudential Tower, according to The Business Journals, a move that comes as the law firm's local office has been on a hiring tear. The firm's Boston headquarters occupies the 32nd and 33rd floors of the tower, a footprint that was recently renovated while attorneys kept working around the construction.
A Renovation Built Around a Working Office
As reported by The Business Journals, the expansion lands at a building ArentFox Schiff already called home. Design and construction firm JDL Corporate Interiors says it was engaged by ArentFox and Boston Properties to carry out a strategic renovation of the Prudential Tower's 32nd and 33rd floors, work the firm describes as a modernization of the law firm's Boston headquarters, per JDL Corporate Interiors. The project was designed to let ArentFox's office keep functioning throughout construction rather than forcing a temporary relocation, the firm notes.
The renovation touched more than just open desks. JDL's project description details work on densely programmed office space alongside client-facing meeting and reception areas, finished with stone tile, wood wall paneling, back-painted glass and operable partitions. Those upgrades fit a broader pattern among Boston law firms, which, per the same account, are increasingly treating real estate as a tool to attract talent, foster collaboration and reinforce brand identity.
A Boston Office With Deep Roots and Recent Growth
ArentFox Schiff's Boston presence goes back decades. The firm says attorneys in its Boston office have served as trusted advisors to companies locally and nationally since 1980, according to ArentFox Schiff. That long-standing office has recently seen a burst of growth: in 2024, the firm announced the addition of 17 attorneys and specialists, including eight partners and three counsel, who joined from Burns & Levinson.
The arrivals were aimed at expanding ArentFox Schiff's technology, life sciences, intellectual property and complex litigation practices, the firm said in its announcement. ArentFox Schiff has stated that the hiring push helped its Boston office grow by more than 40% in 2024 alone. The Boston office is part of a firm formed when Arent Fox LLP and Schiff Hardin LLP completed their merger effective March 1, 2022.
Boston's Law Firms Are Betting Big on Office Space
ArentFox Schiff's move into upgraded space reflects a wider trend playing out across Boston's legal industry. Law firms now account for 16% of all office square footage leased in the city year-to-date, a figure described as an eight-year high and the sector's third consecutive year of growth, according to Boston Real Estate Times. Class A buildings accounted for 79% of law firm leasing activity in 2025, even as leasing in the city's trophy towers dropped 56% compared with the prior year and made up just 16% of total activity. The publication notes that the legal sector's steady appetite for premium buildings is providing a measure of stability for Boston's broader office market.
That stability shows up in the citywide numbers too. Boston's office vacancy rate fell to 23.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with the city adding 590,938 square feet of year-to-date positive absorption, according to JLL. The central business district alone recorded 241,860 square feet of positive absorption in the same quarter, and every square foot of the 894,395 square feet of office space under development in Boston was already preleased.
Other Firms Are Making Similar Moves
ArentFox Schiff isn't the only law firm reshuffling its Boston footprint. Rubin Rudman is relocating from 53 State St. to floors 23 through 25 at Tishman Speyer's One Federal St., growing its space from 43,000 to 58,000 square feet with a move-in date expected in early 2028, the Boston Globe reported. The firm's lawyer count has climbed from 60 when it first moved into its current tower in 2017 to around 100 today, and its managing partner said he'd like room to eventually reach 125 attorneys.
Bigger footprints have become a theme elsewhere in the market as well. JLL's research shows Freshfields tripled its footprint at One Post Office Square by moving onto the 38th and 39th floors, while Weil Gotshal increased its space by 33% at 1001 Boylston Street. ArentFox Schiff has also been expanding beyond Boston: the firm recently moved its New York office to 1301 Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan, a location that features 76,000 square feet of interconnected space, according to ArentFox Schiff's own description of that office.
