Law firm signs 100,000 s/f deal at 3 World Financial Center.

In a major boost for Downtown Manhattan, Midtown-based Morgan & Finnegan LLP, one of the nation's leading law firms specializing in litigating and protecting intellectual property rights, has announced it will return to its Lower Manhattan roots.

The firm has signed a 20-year lease for two full floors at Three World Financial Center encompassing over 100,000 square feet of space. Morgan & Finnegan is the first major law firm to relocate from Midtown to Downtown since 9/11, and one of the very few firms that has returned Downtown after long-term occupancy in Midtown.

In consideration of its commitment to Lower Manhattan, Morgan & Finnegan will receive a $1.5 million grant from the Federally-funded Job Creation and Retention Program. The program, developed to help Lower Manhattan recover from the events of September 11, is administered by Empire State Development in cooperation with New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Based at 345 Park Avenue since 1969, Morgan & Finnegan was originally located Downtown near Wall Street since its inception in 1893, including 30 Broad Street and 80 Pine Street. It is now the first new tenant to inhabit Three World Financial Center.

This new lease brings over 200 Morgan & Finnegan employees to the Class A four-building complex whose towers offer large floor plates, modern state-of-the-art infrastructure, and technology, in addition to amenities such as the world famous Winter Garden and European-style Courtyard.

"We are very pleased that we'll soon be operating from Lower Manhattan in such a magnificent complex as the World Financial Center," said John E Sweeney, Partner at Morgan & Finnegan.

"This is an important move for our firm, one that brings us back to our roots in Lower Manhattan, and one that offers us more space for future growth." The firm will occupy the 20th and 21+' floors of the 53-story property, providing sufficient expansion space to meet its immediate goals for continued growth. The lease also provides an option for future additional space, consistent with the firm's long-range growth objectives.

CB Richard Ellis' John Maher, Kenneth Rapp, and Paul Myers represented Morgan & Finnegan in the negotiations, while Dennis Friedrich and Jerry Larkin acted for ownership, Brookfield Properties.

Brookfield owns one million-square feet in the lower half of Three World Financial Center, having acquired its interest last year from Lehman Brothers. The upper half of the 2.1 million-square foot office tower is owned by American Express.

Charles A. Gargano, chairman of Empire State Development said, "The arrival of Morgan & Finnegan is further proof that Lower Manhattan is in the midst of a dramatic economic recovery. Governor Pataki's unwavering commitment to that recovery has provided invaluable incentives that have helped retain existing jobs and lure new companies to this recovering neighborhood. I congratulate Morgan & Finnegan on their relocation to Lower Manhattan."

"I am pleased to welcome Morgan & Finnegan to Lower Manhattan on behalf of Mayor Bloomberg and the City," said EDC President Andrew M. Alper. "I am also pleased that JCRP grants have played a significant role in the recovery of Lower Manhattan. To date, we have approved grants totaling $255 million for 71 companies that will retain and bring almost 60,000 employees Downtown and create about 6,000 new jobs to the area."

"We are very excited to have an opportunity to resume membership in the Downtown business community and to participate in the re-birth of the entire Lower Manhattan area," said Christopher Hughes, Partner, Morgan & Finnegan.

"Morgan & Finnegan's mandate was to secure office space that would allow for expansion and project the film's prestigious image as one of America's largest and most experienced intellectual property law firms," said Mr. Rapp.

"The rent differential between Midtown and Downtown, coupled with the incentive package offered by the City and State, made the economics of this deal very compelling," added Mr. Maher.

According to Carl Weisbrod, President, Alliance for Downtown New York, "We are delighted by Morgan & Finnegan's decision to return Downtown. It is a testament to the great values available here as well as the marketplace's faith in the revitalization process."

"Morgan & Finnegan is one of the most respected law films in New York," said Ric Clark, President and CEO of Brookfield Properties Corp. "We are thrilled to welcome such a prestigious tenant to Three World Financial Center and applaud them for helping to bring about the revitalization of Downtown."

Attorneys Alan M. Berman and Nancy Goldstein of Le Boeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP represented Morgan & Finnegan in the negotiations, while Robert Sorin and David Kaufman of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson acted for Brookfield Properties.