Co-working spaces – An Interview with Kerese Patterson of Precedent Suites
Co-working spaces are gaining popularity in several countries around the world, providing an alternative business space for business professionals and Attorneys. The concept of co-working spaces is also gaining traction in the Caribbean region.
But what are co-working spaces and how do they work?
A typical co-working space allows you to book that particular space or a particular room (For e.g.: private office or meeting room) either on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis depending on your chosen package. Co-working spaces are usually shared environments. However, some may offer access to your own private office or there may be areas within that co-working space where you can work from.
Co-working spaces usually offer amenities such as printing and photocopying. Some may also offer a kitchen space.
One of the immense benefits of co working spaces is that you can use a space (private office for instance) for a fixed fee, where you are provided with all that you need to operate your practice, while maintaining a professional space, all while spending less to do so.
These spaces offer the opportunity to Attorneys, to establish their own practice without incurring the burdensome financial costs of doing so. These costs and usual expenses include furniture, office equipment and machinery (printer, scanner etc). Not to mention, one also must consider utility bills, which will vary from month to month, rent and the costs of hiring a receptionist or some other staff member to answer your phones or maintain an office presence when you're out.
Co working spaces are a great option for solo practitioners who don't have any staff or young Attorneys looking to practice on their own but think they are not in a financial position to incur the usual traditional expenses to do so.
“Precedents Suites is a space curated for Attorneys and other business professionals who need office spaces and a business backend without the high overhead costs”. ”
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Kerese Patterson, an Attorney-at-Law and businesswoman who is the founder of Precedent Suites, a co-working space based in Kingston, Jamaica. Precedent Suites is a "space curated for Attorneys and other business professionals who need office spaces and a business backend without the high overhead costs".
As an Attorney-at-Law, Kerese initially envisioned Precedent Suites as a hub primarily for Attorneys-at-Law (Senior lawyers, junior lawyers and student attorneys) to work, mentor and learn from one another. In speaking with her, while this vision has certainly remained the same, she has pivoted to appealing to business professionals across the board rather than just Attorneys. Despite this change in strategy and expansion of its customer base, Precedent Suites’ offerings are uniquely suited to Attorneys looking for a more cost-effective solution to operate their practice or a space for them to truly venture out on their own.
Read on for my discussion with Kerese.
Q: What led to you establishing Precedent Suites and more specifically, a co-working space?
Kerese explained that when she was called to the Bar, she initially wanted to work with a law firm to get that hands-on experience from more seasoned Attorneys. However, due to the high rate of graduates per year in Jamaica (around 200 graduates) there is competition for those positions in firms. Kerese ultimately was not employed by a firm after sending out multiple applications and as a result, she decided to start out on her own. "Due to me working throughout school, I had some savings". She also received encouragement from her husband". "Anyone coming out of high school may find that it is difficult to start out on their own or with a firm due to the lack of work experience. I can only imagine that it could be difficult for them as it was difficult for me and I had work experience." She also stated that when going out on your own, you must consider rent, overhead expenses and "you're in court everyday so ideally you want someone at your office eventually", whether that is an assistant, paralegal or someone else. There are also other expenses to consider such as bearer costs and process services costs and so on. "When I first started out, I had to be everything; a secretary, bearer, process server" and it was difficult for her to keep up with expenses. She stated that after a discussion with her husband, they realised that the graduates coming out of Norman Manley Law School will not decrease, and she felt motivated to find a way to facilitate them where she could provide a space that was minimal and affordable which included rent and utilities. She further discussed the idea with some of her colleagues who encouraged her to push forward with the idea. "That was really the birth of it all".
As to her vision for Precedent Suites, Kerese stated that the initial plan was to just focus on Attorneys. Kerese envisioned Precedent Suites to have a community presence where older attorneys would come in to assist younger attorneys. " I wanted the gap between young attorneys and more senior attorneys to close" She hoped that Attorneys coming out of law school who ended up practicing on their own would be able to do so without fear. "We engaged Justis to have a research location at the facility so that even students through a membership programme could use the facility to study, engage with practicing attorneys, to get their feet wet and network so that in the event that they are called, they have made some connections with attorneys that they could call on. It was really about building a society within a society".
In speaking about her eventual pivot in catering to a wider target market as opposed to only Attorneys, Kerese mentioned that since the business opened in June 2019, she received numerous inquiries from other professionals wanting to use the space and as a result, she recognised that she could not turn those persons away. “We recognised that it's not just Attorneys who are struggling to afford brick and mortar offices, but everyone across the board." As such she has tailored her services and has expanded to offering space to other professionals including Attorneys, design and marketing firms and small business owners, to name a few.”
SW: I know that there are other co-working spaces in Jamaica. Other than what you just mentioned as to your reasons for starting Precedent Suites, what vision did you have for this business, whether in services that you wanted to provide that you felt couldn’t be replicated by just being a member of one of the other co-working spaces around?
Kerese recognised that there were some challenges for Attorneys especially those who worked on their own or outside of Kingston, in being able to effectively conduct research. As such, Precedent Suites provides a space and resources to carry out research through Justis. Further, Precedent Suites also provides a DocuCentre allowing members to utilise printing and photocopying services. Additionally, the co working space also provides bearer and process services, business address and a letter and packages delivery services.
Have Attorneys been receptive to the concept of co-working spaces? Is education required?
Kerese indicated that education around the concept of co-working spaces was needed. Confidentiality is one of the biggest concerns raised by Attorneys interested in utilising Precedent Suites' offices. "Our membership includes an office and complimentary board room access so that you can meet with clients.” .For Kerese, upholding confidentiality is of upmost importance and to that end, it was important that she offer complimentary board room access instead of offering the service under a different pay structure (as other co-working spaces may do) given the seriousness in upholding confidentiality and maintaining trust in accordance with the profession's ethics code.
Overall, Kerese has found so far that "there are attorneys who are willing to work with the idea of co-working spaces but that there are some attorneys who are adamant that they need a large office with a receptionist out in the front". Additionally, for her non- legal members, she has recognised that they enjoy sharing a space with attorneys as they can utilise their services, which has resulted in great interaction and beneficial team membership.
Q: Of the Attorneys that you see that are either interested or have signed on to be members of Precedent Suites, do you see a specific demographic expressing interest or is it more of a mixed demographic?
Kerese stated that this demographic was mixed. With older attorneys in particular, she has found that some have expressed interest and are open to the concept of co- working spaces, but they had an issue with the size of the office. She has however received positive feedback from Attorneys across the board. Receiving that feedback has only encouraged Kerese to continuing pushing to provide this service and "that it is something needed in this field". While Precedent Suites currently offers a co working facility to business professionals, Kerese continues to work towards being able to tailor a space specifically for attorneys and helping them to understand that you don't need to spend alot of money to be able practice on your own.
Q: For someone who has never heard of a co-working space, what are the benefits of a co-working space vs a traditional office space?
1. Affordability - "it's one flat rate for every overhead you can think of excluding staff"
2. Linkages - the linkages that you will make in a co working community are priceless. For Kerese, because there are differing professions working in a co-working space, it allows one to be able to learn from others, to build a network and encourages persons to grow personally and professionally. For attorneys who work within that co-working space and who have built connections with one another, it also opens opportunities for attorneys to rely on each other or assist one another from time to time with their workload or cases. For Kerese, this is one of the biggest benefits of a co working space; the idea of team building, personal growth and networking, especially for young professionals.
What are the full services that Precedent Suites offers?
KP: We have office membership - that includes all the utilities, complimentary conference room, business and mailing address, receptionist and 24/7 access to the facility. We have a lounge membership – for persons who particularly work outside of Kingston that need to come into Kingston for meetings or they have various meetings but they have big time lapses in between those meetings; they can come in and use the lounge for half a day or a whole day, do some work". Precedent Suites also provides conference room and lounge room rentals which can be used for meetings or small training sessions. For Attorneys, Precedent Suites also provides bearer services and paralegal services. In respect of a business and mailing address, Kerese explains that this is also offered as a stand-alone service where the business accepts mail on a member's behalf and provides storage solutions for packages, particularly where a member's business may be product based.
SW: Mentorship appears to be very important to you. Is that a role that you see Precedent Suites playing in that regard?
Kerese stated that this was the goal. " I’ve come to recognise the importance of mentorship. Ideally when I first started out practicing, I would’ve loved to have an older attorney with me to say this is what you should do when filling out applications or you are addressing the court about a particular matter; just the little steps that will make it easier to practice. When I first started out, I thought that attorneys who were addressing the court went to a completely different school than I did." Having a senior member of the Jamaican Bar Association as her mentor provided Kerese with some guidance which she appreciated and valued. "I know the benefits of mentorship, I know the benefits of someone taking the time out to assist you in doing anything that can make your transition from student to professional much easier. "
Kerese's vision for Precedent Suites, that is, student attorneys utilising the space by providing research tools, and providing a medium for closing the gap between young and more senior attorneys through the co-working facility will ultimately go a long way towards providing those mentorship opportunities.
Final thoughts
Co-working spaces can provide a viable alternative for Attorneys looking for a more cost effective, flexible and affordable way to operate their practice without the hassle of having to fund and source office equipment and space. Co-working spaces also provide great opportunities for personal development, networking team building and even business opportunities by interacting with other professionals who use the space. Precedent Suites in venturing out to provide a space specifically for Attorneys, its founder, Kerese Patterson found that this office model was generally needed by other business professions and not just for Attorneys but the reception to a co-working space for Attorneys has been positive.
Whether a co-working space will fit your needs or be suitable for you, will depend on certain factors such as your area(s) of practice, whether you have or will need staff as opposed to outsourcing some tasks and the mobility of your practice.
To find out more about Precedent Suites, you can check them out at their website here.
