Alternative service providers, flexible office space, rightsizing and new commercial developments are among the factors affecting the legal real estate market, according to the latest research from real estate services firm JLL.

JLL’s annual Real Estate Perspective looks back at the environment for law firms at the national and local level, as well as other trends affecting the legal industry and the strategy firms should employ. For 2019, JLL identified several themes affecting law firms after nearly a decade of economic expansion, including the use of alternative service providers; whether the trend toward co-working spaces could be utilized by the legal industry; the benefits and drawbacks of resigning a lease or relocating; and the continued expansion of new law firm office space.