Musick Peeler & Garrett LLP, a downtown-based law firm with five offices across the state, has signed a lease for a two-floor, 53,000-square-foot office at Brookfield Properties’ Bank of America Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
Eric Duncanson of Cushman & Wakefield represented Musick Peeler on the transaction. Marin Turney, vice president of leasing at Brookfield Properties, represented landlord Brookfield Properties in the lease.
“Musick Peeler has been proud to call downtown Los Angeles home for more than 50 years,” Joe De Briyn, a managing partner at Musick Peeler, said in a statement. “We are committed to the dynamic work environment and appeal of downtown L.A. and we look forward to our firm’s next chapter to start at BOA Plaza, a place for us to continue to serve our clients, maintain our culture and attract top legal talent.”
Added Turney, “We are delighted that one of California’s premier law firms is maintaining its presence in the area and ushering in a new era of elevated workspace at our landmark Bank of America Plaza tower.”
Musick Peeler, which has called downtown Los Angeles home since 1954 and has a workforce of more than 80 attorneys, will be moving into its new location in three or four months.
Turney explained how Musick Peller came to sign an eight-year lease with the building.
“The space was originally occupied by Kirkland and Ellis,” Turney said. “When they vacated the space, they left us with three contiguous floors with excellent remaining (tenant improvements). There were interconnecting stairs.”
The space had been available for a while during the Covid period when the office sector slid.
“Through the pandemic, we were actively marketing the space,” Turney said. “The activity throughout the pandemic was slow.”
One of the floors was finally taken by one of the building’s existing tenants, the Analysis Group, which left floors 29 and 30 available.
“We really wanted a tenant to take the two floors,” Turney said.
Musick Peeler has offices in San Francisco and San Diego, but the Los Angeles office has been their flagship headquarters.
De Briyn said that his firm is ready for a change after years of being located at its current location.
“The firm has been at the 1 Wilshire building forever,” De Briyn said. “We were the first tenant to sign up there in the 1960s. When the time came to re-sign, we started to look at other buildings in town. And we wanted to be downtown.”
De Briyn has long been aware of the tower at 333 S. Hope St.
“The Bank of America building has always been one of my favorite buildings,” De Briyn said. “It sort of fell into our laps. There was some space that we liked. It was already built out, we just had to make some tweaks and adjustments.”
He said heand his employees are looking forward to the relocation.
“Moving is always a challenge, but everyone has embraced it so well with the firm,” De Briyn said. “They’re very excited about going to a new building, a new feel.”
Turney said that the way the floors were built out lent itself to minimal tenant improvements for Musick Peeler.
“It was a modification of the existing improvements,” Turney said. “To find a space that matches the tenant’s expectations and reuse the space as is, it’s rare when that happens.”
Completed in 1974, the 55-story Bank of America Plaza is one of the most iconic skyscrapers on Bunker Hill. The tower is home to Bank of America, the Capital Group Companies and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton.
The building, located at 333 South Hope St., boasts direct access to all major freeways, public transportation and Brookfield’s shuttle service to nearby parking, and downtown L.A. cultural and dining destinations. The building’s signature 4.2-acre public plaza includes Alexander Calder’s “Four Arches” sculpture as well as more than 200 trees and four water features.
