Katten Moves to Iconic Rockefeller Center® as Flexible Return-to-Office Plan Launches

Katten announced today that it has begun moving into its new 125,000-square-foot New York home at 50 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, coinciding with the return to offices firmwide in a hybrid environment under a new flexible work policy.

“We are excited to have our New York office in this prime location, offering top workplace amenities and exciting new dining and retail that will make physical presence in the office more desirable for Katten team members as well as clients and other visitors,” said Katten CEO Noah S. Heller, who is based in New York.

“Moving to this premier spot is a great way to begin our hybrid work environment as the upgraded space is an improved option where our team can continue delivering superior client service,” Heller said. “Our return-to-work policy is built on trust in our people. They are working incredibly hard. This policy helps us seize a rare chance to redefine ‘normal.’”

The policy, called KattenFlex, allows Katten attorneys and business professionals, working with their practice and department heads, to decide when to work in the office or remotely. This approach applies to all firm employees, including those based in New York as team members there are relocating from the firm’s longtime office at 575 Madison Avenue.

“The move to Rockefeller Center, such a central and dynamic campus, will enhance Katten’s ability to expand in the world’s business capital, helping us continue to retain and attract top talent,” said Chris DiAngelo, managing partner of Katten’s New York office.

The firm plans to formally unveil the Rockefeller office with its many amenities later this year.

Katten signed a long-term lease for the new space in 2019 to occupy five floors in the 16-story building owned by Tishman Speyer and located near the legendary Radio City Music Hall, the storied NBC Studios, the popular Top of the Rock® Observation Deck and the famed Rink at Rockefeller Center.

Built in the 1930s, the newly renovated 50 Rockefeller Plaza is an Art Deco-style structure formerly known as the Associated Press Building that for decades housed that news agency’s headquarters. A distinctive part of the building is the façade’s 10-ton stainless steel sculpture by artist Isamu Noguchi titled “News” and located at the main entrance as a tribute to journalism. As part of its dedicated focus on hospitality, Tishman Speyer commissioned renowned design firm Studio Mellone to redesign the building’s lobby, which was recently completed. Last fall, Radio Park—a new green space on the roof of the building—opened, fulfilling the vision of the original architects.

As a new tenant, all Katten employees have access to ZO., Tishman Speyer’s comprehensive suite of amenities and services, including fitness programming, for tenants in its buildings worldwide.

The New York office move deepens the relationship between Katten and Tishman Speyer, the law firm’s current landlord in Chicago, and soon in Washington, DC, when Katten relocates its office there to 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue.

In leasing the new space, Katten was represented by its Real Estate partners Scott M. Vetri, chair of the New York Real Estate practice, and Andrew L. Jagoda, as well as its New York managing partner Chris DiAngelo and associate Ryan A. Gibbons. John Cefaly, Robert Lowe and Jon Herman of Cushman & Wakefield served as Katten’s real estate broker, and Cushman & Wakefield also provided project management services. J.T. Magen was Katten’s general contractor and Gensler was the design and architecture firm.

Katten is a full-service law firm with approximately 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm’s core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals.
For more information, visit katten.com.