Chadbourne & Parke LLP is going forward with a deal to move its headquarters to 1301 Avenue of the Americas, several sources have told The Commercial Observer.
The law firm had been shopping around the Manhattan market for months in search of a new home, coming close to leases at One World Trade Center and 230 Park Avenue only to pull away and resume its search.
The firm had also been rumored as a potential taker of space at 11 Times Square and 250 West 55th Street, Eighth Avenue buildings that have attracted other law firms.
Chadbourne’s opportunity at 1301 Avenue of the America opened in recent months with the dramatic downfall of the firm Dewey LaBoeuf, which declared bankruptcy in May. Dewey, once one of the largest global law firms, had occupied a large block of space at the 1.8 million-square-foot office tower, which is owned by the Paramount Group.
Chadbourne will take about 200,000 to 250,000 square feet on the 45-story building’s base floors. Sources say that one of the attractions of the deal is the fact that the firm can inherit the office installation left behind by Dewey. According to people familiar with Chadbourne, the firm, like many of its peers, was reluctant to spend capital outfitting its space for occupancy, an expense that can run into the millions of dollars for a large office.
Dewey itself fell apart after it accrued heavy debts, in part to pay top recruits.
Chadbourne has been under increasing pressure to get a lease for its offices done. Its current space at 30 Rockefeller Plaza is set to expire next year and will be filled by the large accounting firm Deloitte, which will be moving into the building then.
A spokesperson at Chadbourne could not be reached for comment.
