Kirkpatrick & Lockhart law firm Downtown plans move

Pittsburgh's largest law firm, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, plans to move from the Oliver Building to One Oliver Plaza -- where it will replace some of the Downtown skyline's most familiar signs with ones of its own.

The law firm said today it will lease 200,000 square feet at the 37-story One Oliver Plaza on Sixth Avenue, and rename it K&L Gates Center. The lease takes effect in 2010.

The current Ariba signs atop the tower will be replaced with K&L Gates signs, subject to approvals. The lobby and common areas of the building will undergo renovations, and the firm, with about 235 lawyers and 600 employees Downtown, said it will use green building methods.

"K&L Gates' significant investment in a notable building in Pittsburgh signifies our firm's continued commitment to this city," chairman and global managing partner Peter Kalis said.

"This office move reflects the recent growth of K&L Gates both domestically and internationally, and we are proud to remain a part of the rich history and promising future of the city of Pittsburgh." The firm has 21 other offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based software company Ariba Inc. earlier this year extended its lease at One Oliver Plaza to 2017, but cut in half its presence there -- from 10 down to five floors.

That deal preserved the Ariba signs atop all four sides of the tower, but only as long as the company remained the anchor tenant.

The Kirkpatrick & Lockhart move is the fourth recent example of a major law firm changing its address or at least shopping around, at a time when vacant office space in the city's central business district remains in the 20 percent range.

Reed Smith intends to relocate its Pittsburgh hub in June 2009 to the $179 million Three PNC Plaza, under construction at Fifth Avenue and Market Street. That firm employs 652 people Downtown, including 216 attorneys, and it put its current Sixth Avenue headquarters up for sale this summer.

Cohen & Grigsby, with 120 attorneys and 235 employees in Pittsburgh, was said to be in final negotiations recently for three to four floors of the Dominion Tower on Liberty Avenue. The firm now is in the 11 Stanwix St. building, the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. headquarters.

Jones Day also looked for space this year and opted to remain at One Mellon Center on Grant Street -- moving from the 30th, 31st and 32nd floors to larger quarters on the 43rd, 44th and 45th floors. Jones Day has 115 employees, including 55 lawyers.