CASE STUDY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
Internationally recognised law fi rm, Kingsley 1apley’s oƝ ce move to an ƈactivity-based’ Ɯ exible
working environment was a result of a close partnership with interior architects KKS Savills and
5ainbow, which supplied and installed much of the furniture that supports new ways of working
In an FMJ feature(i) last year on
changing workplace patterns within
the legal sector, we published
research carried out by CBRE Global
Workplace Solutions that revealed many
of its law firm clients were looking to
change their working environment. Law
firms it found had traditionally struggled
with desk ownership allocations, space
utilisation and encouraging lawyers to
embrace flexible working adaptations. It
revealed that many law firm clients were
interested in adopting agile working,
with some having indicated a complete
radical overhaul of working patterns.
The article suggested this trend was
largely prompted by the pandemic, but
for leading law firm, Kingsley Napley(ii), its
new oœ ice in London’s Shoreditch area,
designed with an ‘activity-based’ flexible
working model was in the pipeline long
before COVID-19 hit. In fact, as Darren Jesse,
Chief Finance and Operating Oœ icer for
Kingsley Napley recalls, the firm started
24 MARCH 2022
looking at its property and workplace
strategy way back in 2014.
He explains: “We were occupying three
buildings in Farringdon but there was no
continuity in design and layout so everything
did feel disparate and having a relationship
with three landlords was no fun either. We
managed to get all the leases to coterminous
in terms of the cessation and then as we
started getting close we had the opportunity
to take on one of the two remaining floors.
We were expanding at a fast pace we knew it
wouldn’t take long to fill those spaces.”
But instead of expanding their footprint,
the firm took a pause and began to look into
adopting agile and activity-based working.
Jesse explains they’d heard of a few firms
experimenting with that approach so it was
decided they would begin by trialling some
alternative ways of working. Kingsley Napley
already had a good relationship with interior
architects KKS Savills(iii) who suggested
introducing some diœ erent concepts within
the existing site, combining more open
plan areas with studio style desk set ups
that would still lend sense of privacy. These
alterations were introduced successfully
prior to move and were well received.
Explains Jesse: “As we came closer to
the lease event we carried out a sizeable
feasibility study over whether we should
move or not, evaluating the cost of staying
where we were, and it proved more eœ ective
to move somewhere else.”
The firm was being advised to go up to
75,000 sq ª , to absorb a growing headcount,
which at the time was around 350 and
growing. But concerned that actual daily
occupancy levels would be much lower, once
you took into account working from home,
and absences for other reasons they instead
installed occupancy sensors in an eightweek
data study, which revealed maximum
occupancy levels of under 60 per cent.
Says Jesse: “We had a lengthy discussion
at partnership level and thought we could
adopt this agile way of working successfully.
There would be a big change management