Office Space News
Barrister Executive Suites Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Published May 5th, 2010 by Jennifer LeClaire
Yesterday I wrote about Davinci Virtual celebrating its fourth anniversary. But the virtual office space giant isn’t the only industry pioneer breaking out the champagne this week. Barrister Executive Suites is marking its 20th anniversary under owner Vince Otte.
How has Barrister Executive Suites grown to become one of the executive office suites industry’s most reputable companies in the Los Angeles area? Here are four hallmarks of Barrister’s 20-year history with Otte at the helm:
- Continued growth and expansion
- Inception of virtual offices
- Shift in the tenant mix
- Word of mouth referrals
“Our philosophy is to provide our tenants with extraordinary service, support and amenities,” says Otte, a former investment banker turned executive office suites pioneer. “They, in turn, share the benefits of executive suites with their colleagues.”
Barrister’s Office History
Otte didn’t build Barrister from the ground up, well, not exactly. Otte acquired a company named Attorney’s Office Management in 1990. The company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the time. Otte rescued the assets and changed the name to Barrister Executive Suites.
Otte started out with 11 locations 20 years ago. Since then, Otte has doubled Barrister’s reach with 22 Class-A locations in Southern California, including office space in San Diego. Part of Otte’s strategy was to expand his target audience.
As its name suggests, Attorney’s Office Management focused on serving attorneys exclusively. Today, Barrister Executive Suites has a more diverse client base. Forty percent of Barrister clients are entrepreneurs from diverse professions ranging from web developers to accountants to psychologists.
Moving into the Future
Barrister has also rolled out four virtual office packages—including office address identity, reception services, temporary private office rentals, conference room bookings and address identity—as the trend toward virtual office space has taken hold in the industry. In the past year along, Barrister has seen a 50 percent increase in use of its virtual office space.
“By remaining privately held, we respond to market demands quickly,” Otte says. “Right now we are meeting the demand of professionals transitioning as a result of the economy from corporate positions who need office space and business identities quickly.”
Barrister says word-of-mouth referrals serve as Barrister’s number two source for new tenants. Portfolio tenancy averages six years. Today, major corporations such as Nike, Coca-Cola, GE Capital and Raytheon use Barrister Executive Suites.
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Elizabeth Sanchez May 5th, 2010 at 7:43 am
I had no idea about Barrister Executive Suites’ history. How very interesting. I guess providing a niche wasn’t profitable in the executive office space world 20 years ago. I don’t see anyone focusing exclusively on one niche now, either, though I have seen some in the serviced office space heavily targeting attorneys, creative professionals, etc. Nice to see how Barrister was born.
Bill Brookshire May 5th, 2010 at 7:56 am
I wonder if Barrister will plan to expand its physical office space footprint. From what I read, it looks like they are moving to build the virtual office space side more rapidly now, which makes sense since that’s the hottest industry trend. I think Barrister Executive Suites has as strong business model. With 20 years under its belt, the success speaks for itself.