Clifford Chance could cut Canary Wharf office space

Re-evaluation comes as firms continue to embrace flexi-working

Clifford Chance is reportedly considering reducing its office space in London as law firms across the City continue to embrace more flexible working arrangements.

The magic circle giant drafted in a property agent last spring to help conduct a year-long “strategic review” of its office space requirements in the post-Covid word.

This review is now understood to have concluded that it will need far less square footage than in pre-pandemic times, The Telegraph reports, and follows the firm’s decision to allow lawyers and staff to work remotely for up to 50% of their time.

The newspaper goes on to claim as much as two-thirds of its office space could be slashed, although it’s not clear if that figure includes space that has already been sublet under longstanding agreements dating back several years.

CC is currently based at 10 Upper Bank Street, a skyscraper in Canary Wharf which scored an A* in our latest Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey thanks in part to its much-raved about swimming pool offering views across the City (pictured below). The firm has been located at this site since 2003, with the lease due to end in 2028.

But this isn’t the first time its been reported that CC is re-evaluating its office requirements. Last summer, Estates Gazette (£) said the magic circle player was on the hunt for a new London HQ of between 300,000 and 400,000 sq ft.