Furnished Office/Law Firm Space In The Portland Area (subletting, leasing)

[Vegas16]

Looks like I may be hanging my own shingle (starting a law firm) in the Portland area in the very near future, which will likely focus on litigation matters.

I've been exploring furnished office space, and found a company called Regus - which operates short-term furnished office space with a number of amenities (e.g., administrative support, copy services, etc.) in the Congress Center and WTC buildings downtown. I've also found the River Park Center in Sellwood, which seems to offer the same amenities for less (also farther from downtown and the courthouse, but much closer to home and with a much better parking situation).

Has anyone had any experience with either of this buildings?

Other than leasing vacant office space or subletting from an existing tenant, are there any other similar buildings I should be looking at (e.g., offering similar amenities)?

As this will be a new firm, I'm trying to keep initial start-up expenses and overhead to a bare minimum without sacrificing my ability to attract and develop a new client base.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Nell Plotts]

I have no personal experience but know several lawyers. IMHO you need to consider the type of law you intend to practice, where your clients needs will best be served. My personal opinion here, if you are practicing family law your clients will likely arrive by car and won't want to deal with parking - Sellwood is better. If you will need to appear in court a lot (traffic court comes to mind) then accessibility to the court house (down town) better meets your client needs. If you have corporate clients you will frequently meet with them at their place of business but having a downtown address may add 'prestige'.

Office space is an expense, it is also marketing. Know your client.