28 BCBUSINESS FEBRUARY 2017 COURTESY OF MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT
"T
he legal profession is chang-
ing so quickly," says Matthew
Peters, national innovation
leader at McCarthy Tétrault.
"The profession is going to look very di•erent 10
to 20 years from now. We can't, like the old days,
design and assume that the same space is going to
work and be used the same way."
Moving its Vancouver oƒce allowed the „rm to
become more eƒcient, …exible, transparent and
connected. The new 60,000-square-foot space
on …oors 22 to 24 at Thurlow and Alberni streets
is 30 per cent smaller than the previous one at
Dunsmuir and Howe, but it still accommodates 83
lawyers and 117 support sta•.
The lawyers have glass-walled oƒces with slid-
ing doors. "We think that lawyers need some level
of concentrated study," says Peters, "so people can
close the doors, work away, have quiet if they need
to but feel they're very much part of the space
when you open up the corner doors." Collabora-
tive areas with a variety of seating and tables are
next to the windows. "If you want to set up a lap-
top and headset, you can go „nd a spot that works
best for you," Peters explains.
Admin support (IT, HR, marketing) are on the
top …oor along with conference rooms for client
meetings, mostly glass-walled but some closed
o• for con„dentiality reasons. Bu•et lunches,
breakfasts and afternoon snacks are served at a
central counter so people can socialize over food.
"One of the whole design elements was connecting
people," Peters says. The central staircase is
narrower by design—ensuring that people don't
pass without looking each other in the eye. "If
you have too wide a staircase you can be in your
own little space, but here the whole idea is you
interact."
Unlike a traditional oƒce, it's easy to see who's
in and connect with them. "You'll bump into
people a lot more, which is the good part because
what we deliver are services that result from
bouncing ideas o• each other," Peters notes. "Get-
ting to the best ideas is really a matter of collabo-
rating, and this space allows us to do it."
In Your Corner
Sightly different
furniture makes
the collaboration
corners "like little
neighbourhoods,"
says innovation leader
Matthew Peters
OFFICE SPACE
Legal
Transparency
When McCarthy Tétrault moved to a new
office, it changed not just where but how the
law firm worked by Felicity Stone
