Snell & Wilmer to Expand Office Footprint in Costa Mesa

Snell & Wilmer has expanded its offices in Costa Mesa in the second largest law firm lease in Orange County this year.

The Phoenix-based firm leased three floors for 57,300 square feet, expanding its footprint by 8 percent in Plaza Tower at 600 Anton Boulevard, a block east of South Coast Plaza, the Commercial Observer reported.

Terms of the deal with landlord Costa Mesa-based C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, owner of the luxury indoor mall, were not disclosed.

Brokers Kevin Bender and Charles Nixon of CBRE represented Snell & Wilmer in the deal, while Robert Lambert and Rick Kaplan of Cushman & Wakefield represented an affiliate of C.J. Segerstrom.

Snell & Wilmer, which made an OC beachhead in 1989, has occupied 53,000 square feet of offices at Plaza Tower since 2004. The expansion gives the firm another 4,300 square feet.

“Our firm wanted to remain in this location because we value our 20-year relationship with the Segerstrom family, and the quality of the greater South Coast Plaza area and the building itself,” Jon Frank, a partner at Snell & Wilmer, said in a statement.

The law firm, with more than 500 attorneys in the U.S. and Mexico, is ranked 110th largest in the U.S. by the National Law Journal.

The size of its lease at Plaza Tower trails a lease renewal by a Los Angeles-based law firm nearby.

This spring, Latham & Watkins inked a re-up deal for nearly 66,000 square feet in Center Tower at 650 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, according to a market report by Cushman & Wakefield. C.J. Segerstrom also owns Center Tower, on the same block as its Plaza Tower.

— Dana Bartholomew