News

Marshall Gerstein Extends Lease in Iconic Willis Tower

May 31, 2019

Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP today announced it has extended its lease in Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower. The firm, which provides sophisticated intellectual property advice and legal services to many of the world’s largest and most innovative businesses, will maintain its presence on the 62nd and 63rd floors of the Tower through 2031.

Founded in 1955, Marshall Gerstein has been an integral part of Chicago’s legal landscape for more than 60 years, and has made its home in multiple iconic Loop buildings – including the Chicago Board of Trade and the Inland Steel building. The firm relocated to Willis Tower in 1993. Today, Marshall Gerstein employs nearly 100 intellectual property attorneys, patent agents, and technical specialists. 

“As our clients’ needs and our workforce has evolved, we have continued to recognize our environment as cornerstone to our abilities to be dynamic and enhance collaboration,” said Jeffrey S. Sharp, managing partner at Marshall Gerstein. “Along with new workflow automation technologies and our creation of paperless filing processes, we no longer have a need for cavernous filing areas, which we can now repurpose to better meet the needs of our clients and our team.” Sharp added, “our intent is to continue to make Marshall Gerstein a place where the best and brightest want to work, and we saw tremendous potential to achieve this goal by remaining at Willis Tower.”

Marshall Gerstein is now considering options to reconfigure parts of its current office space, transforming underutilized areas to foster continued innovation. Recently named "Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year – Midwest" by Managing Intellectual Property, among other accolades, the firm is often a first-mover in adopting technologies that have modernized the practice of intellectual property law. It was one of the first law firms in the nation to become paperless, as well as one of the first to fully embrace electronic filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

”We’re thrilled that our longtime partners at Marshall Gerstein will continue to call Willis Tower home,” said David Moore, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Director at EQ Office. “With the building redevelopment project well underway, we are proud to be creating spaces that fit the way people live and work today, and look forward to supporting Marshall Gerstein as they achieve their business goals and attract valuable talent.”

Willis Tower is currently undergoing a more than $500-million renovation, the biggest restorative transformation in the building’s 43-year history. The renovation has added new tenant amenity spaces including Tone, the 30,000 square foot fitness center, Tower House, a casual café, lounge, and workspace and event spaces like Altitude and the Steel Room. The redevelopment also includes the addition of Catalog, a five-story dining, retail and immersive-entertainment experience, located at the base of Willis Tower, as well as a new 30,000 square foot deck and garden.

Marshall Gerstein’s lease negotiations were spearheaded by three of its partners, Randall G. Rueth, Jennifer Burnette, and Michael P. Furmanek. The firm’s broker was CBRE, and their team included Kyle Kamin, Jon Milonas, and Peter Livaditis.

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