Despite the forces of the special interests and corporate funders and the pols they own, same as the old, as to suppressing the innovative advancements and innovative work force trades, which they have as to green and alternative for some forty years now.
November 6 2011 - Gone are the 300-square-foot partner offices and oak floors. In are bamboo cabinets, recycled Terrazzo floors and conference rooms that stream in natural light.
Squire Sanders & Dempsey — the international law firm whose Washington office relocated in August to the central business district after 30 years near the White House — hopes the new features will be enough to earn the highest rating for green construction and design, known as LEED platinum.
The designation is an outgrowth from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design sytem that measures a building’s square footage, energy efficiency, amount of natural light, whether materials are locally sourced and come from fast-growing or recycled materials.
The building itself, at 1200 19th St. NW, already has been certified LEED platinum; the firm, whose 62 Washington attorneys take up two floors of the 11-story property, will seek platinum certification for the office interior next year.
The greening of law firms is not a new phenomenon. Firms for years have been incorporating sustainability practices in their operations (according to a CB Richard Ellis report issued in late 2010, about half of the Am Law 100 firms have some type of environmental program, and 11 of the 100 have achieved or are seeking LEED certification). But the burst of recent movement in the District reflects a unique confluence of forces at play in Washington, lawyers and LEED experts said.
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