Manhattan law firm offices are designed to dazzle clients with breathtaking views and the latest wizardry at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. But a decade later when the lease expires, law firms face a day of reckoning.

When Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer folded this year after 47 years, the name partners said they didn’t want to take on the long-term financial commitment that a new lease would require. The same was true for Wormser, Kiely, Galef & Jacobs, which disbanded after 80 years. Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard made a similar decision after a 35-year run.