Lawyers Being Booted From Plush Offices
They’re usually on the other side of eviction proceedings--the ones who are called in to help landlords get rid of unwanted tenants.
But suddenly some of Los Angeles’ most prominent lawyers are the ones who are being kicked out.
Dozens of attorneys are being booted from a landmark Century City skyscraper where some have operated their plushily furnished law offices for 25 years.
“Everybody’s scrambling to find new space,” said Harland Braun, a high-profile criminal lawyer who has been in the 44-floor Century City South Twin Towers on Century Park East since it opened in 1975.
The problem is that there are few empty office spaces to move to in Century City--which experts say is one of the hottest office real estate markets in California. And attorneys, who speculated that they are being ousted for a higher-caliber tenant, badly want to keep a Century City address on their business cards.
“Most clients will stay with you as long as you’re on the Westside. But a certain clientele prefers you to be in Century City or Beverly Hills,” said celebrity divorce lawyer Gary Olsen--another quarter-century tenant of the high-rise.
The lawyers--occupying the 11th and 12th floors of the tower at 2049 Century Park East--got their walking papers April 28. “Termination of occupancy notices” ordered them out by June 30.
The notices were delivered by Barrister Executive Suites, a company that leases the two floors and subleases private office space to the lawyers and a sprinkling of accountants and other professionals. The lawyers’ offices are connected with common reception areas, law libraries and conference rooms.
Barrister attempted to renew its master lease for the two floors but was unsuccessful, said Ernest Johnson, who heads the company.
His firm has lined up alternative space in another building for about 30 of the displaced lawyers, he said. The rest, estimated at 50 to 75, are on their own.
“We can’t accommodate everybody,” Johnson said. “It’s unfortunate. It’s a tough situation. It’s a really tight market.”
Johnson speculated that the tower operator plans to empty three or four contiguous floors and rent that space out to a single company, “maybe a Fortune 100 firm.”
Along with higher rent, the tower’s operators end up with a better credit rating for their building, Johnson said, adding: “Here’s the truth: for the owner of the building, I’m not sure it’s not the right thing to do.”
The towers’ general manager, Jim Durfey, declined Friday to discuss plans for the lawyers’ space, except to acknowledge that Johnson’s view is close to the mark.
“Century City is a very good market. And the market pretty much dictates the policy of the landlord,” said Durfey.
None of that was reassuring to those scurrying to find a new home. Their normal, $400-per-hour law practices were delayed while lawyers roamed the hallways asking one another if they had found a new office or if they were willing to share space if an empty spot was found.
International tax planner Nabil Barsoum, whose office has been in the tower for 16 years, was tipped off to empty space in a building a block away by a friend. He quickly told Braun, who wasted no time in hurrying over and signing up.
Barsoum said his own move to that building will cost tens of thousands of dollars--the expense of changing stationery, business cards and switching telephone and computer service. “This is a mess,” he shrugged.
“We read all the time in the paper about business problems and then all of a sudden something happens to us and we’re in a tailspin,” admitted Braun--who pays $8,000 a month for his spacious tower office suite overlooking the Hollywood area.
Down the hall, civil litigator Richard Lubetzky sat alone in his tiny, 10-foot by 8-foot interior office wondering where he can find substitute space for the $625 per month he pays in the tower.
“A number of us are in a real crunch,” said Lubetzky. “Being evicted is a new experience for me. This whole thing is very upsetting to a lot of people.”
Criminal defense lawyer William Graysen, who for 20 years has enjoyed his spacious corner office with its custom-built furniture and handsome decor, said he isn’t sure where he will end up.
“We’re in limbo. There are 100 lawyers scrambling for space in a crowded market,” said Graysen--whose clients have included the cop-slapping Zsa Zsa Gabor.
“You can quote me: ‘It’s not over yet.’ ”
