Choosing the right serviced office for your law firm in London

A law firm’s office needs to support confidential work and provide a setting where clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive matters. With a wide choice of private serviced offices on flexible terms across central London, it helps to approach a viewing with a clear understanding of what your practice needs from the building.

From location and privacy to the impression your clients form when they arrive, we’ve explored the key considerations to help you assess how well an office would suit your firm.

Key takeaways:

• The building’s layout and everyday procedures should support your firm’s confidentiality requirements, including how conversations, visitors and sensitive information are handled
• Clients may only see reception and a meeting room, so the welcome they receive and the comfort of those surroundings deserve attention during a viewing
• Location should reflect the way your practice works, balancing journeys to courts and counsel with convenient access for your team and clients
• Check notice periods for both parties and whether you can expand or reduce your office during the agreement, particularly if your headcount changes with your caseload

How office requirements differ for law firms

Headcount, cost and commute will all shape your choice of office, but a law firm also needs a building that supports its duty to keep clients’ affairs confidential.

Conversations in corridors can be as sensitive as the documents on your desk or computer, so privacy needs to extend beyond your own office. The building’s layout and everyday procedures should help your team protect confidential information throughout the working day.

Your environment also plays a part in putting clients at ease, particularly when their visit is limited to reception and a meeting room. The welcome they receive and the comfort of those surroundings help shape the impression they take away of your practice.

Privacy and client comfort therefore need to be considered together when choosing an office, with attention to how the building is arranged and how its team handles visits.

Why does location matter in the legal sector?

For most businesses a central London address signals standing and opens up opportunities to network and attract talent. For a legal practice the area between Chancery Lane and Gray’s Inn is something more particular, because it forms part of the legal infrastructure of London itself.

A central London address can help a business build its reputation, develop professional connections and attract talent. For legal practices, a base around Chancery Lane and Gray’s Inn also offers the practical advantage of being close to courts, barristers’ chambers and other firms they work with.

Within walking distance are the Royal Courts of Justice and the Rolls Building on Fetter Lane, along with Lincoln’s Inn, Gray’s Inn and many of the barristers’ chambers your practice may work with.

For firms that regularly attend court or meet counsel, the legal quarter offers practical advantages alongside its established reputation, making it easier to return to the office after a hearing or attend a conference at short notice. An office elsewhere may offer savings on rent, but these need to be weighed against the time your team spends travelling between the office, courts and chambers.

Being based near other firms and chambers can make it easier to maintain the relationships a small or mid-sized practice relies on, whether you’re meeting a referral contact, arranging an introduction or seeking an informal peer-to-peer second opinion.

Five things law firms should look for in a serviced office

These five criteria are worth exploring during a viewing to understand how the building would support your practice and identify any limitations that could be difficult to resolve once you’ve moved in.

1. Acoustic privacy for confidential conversations

Acoustic privacy matters whenever your team discusses a client’s affairs, so use the viewing to understand how the building limits sound travelling between offices and shared areas.
Ask whether the offices are fully enclosed and how the walls, ceilings and doors help prevent conversations being overheard, including where glass partitions are used. It’s also worth checking whether an enclosed call booth is available when a conversation cannot be taken at your desk.
With the team’s permission, have a colleague speak at normal volume in an adjoining office while you listen with the door closed. This can reveal obvious sound transfer, particularly if you can make out individual words, although a brief check cannot confirm that a room provides complete acoustic privacy.

2. An arrival that reflects your practice

For clients attending a probate meeting or a first family law consultation, a calm reception and somewhere comfortable to wait can help put them at ease before the discussion begins.
During a viewing, consider what visitors see when they arrive, where they wait and how they reach your office or meeting room. At Argyll, our buildings are unbranded, helping you present your practice in a discreet, professional setting.

3. Meeting rooms that match the conversation

Look for a choice of meeting room sizes to accommodate both a small conference with counsel and a larger completion meeting, then ask about availability at short notice and hourly charges.
Privacy and technology deserve attention alongside capacity, so check whether people passing outside can see into the rooms and whether the audio, video and internet connection can support remote meetings or hearings. The team should also be able to explain what technical support is available when you need it.

4. Confidentiality in every aspect

The practical arrangements for access, cleaning and handling information should support your firm’s approach to confidentiality, so ask the team to explain:

• How is post received, logged and handed over?
• What provision is made for confidential waste, and how often is it collected?
• When does cleaning take place, and how is access to locked offices managed?
• Who has access to your office, and how is that access controlled?
• How is your network kept separate from those of other businesses in the building?

Clear answers will help you understand how these arrangements work in practice and whether they meet your firm’s requirements.

5. A reception team briefed on your clients’ needs

The reception team needs to understand how your practice welcomes visitors, particularly when a client’s identity or reason for attending should be treated discreetly.

Ask how the team is briefed about expected visitors, whether you can agree a discreet check-in process and how those instructions are passed on when someone provides cover. Knowing who will greet your clients and how consistently those arrangements are followed will help you assess the service they can expect.

How our offices support a legal practice

At Argyll, our offices are designed around the needs of professional businesses, with features and services that support the day-to-day work of a legal practice:

• Our buildings are unbranded, providing a discreet, professional setting where you can welcome clients and establish your practice’s own identity
• Our office customers have their own private, secure LAN with dedicated bandwidth, keeping their business network separate from those of other occupiers
• Our customers can access meeting rooms, business lounges and coworking across the portfolio when work takes them to another part of London, with our team available to explain the locations and booking arrangements
• When you take an office, we can work with you to tailor it to your requirements, including discussing options for additional privacy where needed
• Our on-site teams are trained to provide thoughtful, efficient service, with attention to the discretion and privacy your practice and its clients expect

Two serviced offices worth considering for your law firm

For firms that regularly attend court or meet counsel, proximity to the legal quarter can make a practical difference to the working day. Practices whose clients mainly visit for consultations may place greater weight on ease of arrival and the meeting rooms available, with Central Court and Hudson House offering different settings to consider.

Central Court: serviced offices in Holborn

Central Court occupies the former London Patent Office at 25 Southampton Buildings, just off Chancery Lane, where a glass-domed roof, galleried reading room and balconied walkways give the building its distinctive Victorian character. Lincoln’s Inn Fields and the Royal Courts of Justice are a short walk away, while nearby transport connections include Chancery Lane and Holborn stations, with Elizabeth line and National Rail services at Farringdon.

For law firms, the practical features include enclosed private offices with their own secure LAN and six meeting rooms, offering a choice of settings for client discussions and larger meetings.

Hudson House: serviced offices in Covent Garden

Hudson House is located at 2–10 Tavistock Street, close to Covent Garden, in a Grade II listed Lutyens building that once housed the editorial offices and printworks of Country Life. Its seven floors combine original features, including marble floors and vaulted ceilings, with contemporary interiors, within walking distance of Covent Garden, Charing Cross and Embankment stations.

The building offers private offices, an unbranded setting and video call booths, alongside a business lounge and two meeting rooms seating four and six people. These smaller rooms make Hudson House worth considering for practices that regularly host client consultations and meetings with counsel.

Frequently asked questions