Research by Savills shows that Singapore ranked fourth among Asia Pacific (Apac) cities in terms of leasing activity in the legal sector for the first half of 2024. The city-state came behind Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

“For Singapore, legal firms have been relatively active in a fairly benign leasing market,” says Ashley Swan, executive director of commercial at Savills Singapore. “We have seen some firms take up new premises with a refreshed way of working as one way of attracting and retaining talent.”

Globally, the city-state ranked 11th. New York topped the list, registering 1.4 million sq ft of space leased out to legal firms in 1H2024. This represented over half of the 4.3 million sq ft leased by the world’s 15 largest legal markets.

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According to Savills, US cities accounted for 69% of the overall legal leasing activity by the largest legal markets, underpinned by market size as well as a preference for lower occupancy density by US legal firms.

Globally, most legal practices maintained the same size of office space in 1H2024, though Savills highlights expansions in select areas. In Europe, Middle East and Africa, 40% of firms expanded office space in the first half of the year, bolstered by expansions in Paris, Brussels and London.

In China, domestic legal firms are relocating to larger spaces, offsetting a reduction in physical footprints by some international firms. Chinese firms also expand in European markets, primarily serving China-based clients and working at lower fees than their Western counterparts.

Savills also observes that legal firms are increasingly looking to secondary cities when considering growth strategies, drawn by more competitively-priced legal talent. Many British law firms in the UK are turning to places like Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Similarly, some firms are looking to Brisbane and Melbourne to bolster growth in Australia.