Legal Firm Office Buildout in Toronto

Three reasons: (1) Private-office percentage — 60-70% private vs 10-20% in tech, which means 2-3x more demising wall per square foot; (2) Acoustic spec — STC 50-55 partitions are 2-layer Type X assemblies, not single; (3) Millwork content — partner offices and boardrooms have substantial custom casework that tech offices skip.

Yes, paradoxically more than in open plan. STC 50 walls work because they cut transmission to about 35-40 dBA inside a quiet room — but a modern office at night (or weekend) might have a background of 28-32 dBA. Speech intelligibility from the next room becomes a problem. Sound masking at 41-43 dBA inside private offices raises the floor so STC walls deliver their promised privacy.

Most firms run a 3-tier finish standard: senior partners (custom millwork, larger office, premium materials), partners (standard millwork package, standardized office size), associates (workstation or shared associate office). Tiering at design stage prevents the endless 'why does X get walnut and I get oak' political process during construction.

Most active matters are now digital (Worldox, NetDocuments, iManage) but litigation files in particular still need physical storage for trial prep. 200-400 sf for a 30-lawyer firm covers active onsite; everything inactive goes to Iron Mountain or Recall (typically $0.40-$0.60 per box per month + retrieval). Long-term trend is down 5-8% per year in physical footprint.

Yes — DIRTT Solo at the high-performance acoustic spec (with proper head/sill seals) tests at STC 49-51. Haworth Enclose with acoustic option hits similar. The catch is execution: any gap at the floor track, ceiling track, or vertical seam drops the field STC 5-7 points. Demountable systems require very careful install QA — usually 2-3 days of an acoustic consultant on site.