Fenwick & West also received LEED Gold-EB for its Silicon Valley Office. SEATTLE, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Fenwick & West LLP is pleased to announce that its Seattle, WA office is the first law firm in the entire United States to be awarded LEED-CI (Platinum) Designation by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is the USGBC's leading rating system for designing and constructing the world's greenest, most energy efficient, and highest performing buildings. LEED Platinum is the highest possible certification. Fenwick & West Senior Director of Facilities and Operations Julie O'Loughlin said, "When we first started out on the journey to find a new location for our Seattle office in February of 2007, we made a commitment to the firm that not only would Fenwick find an attractive office space, but that we would do everything in our power to design and build a LEED Certified space; a sustainable environment that would help distinguish us from our competition and make a positive statement to our clients, staff and attorneys. As of yesterday, we not only achieved our goal of LEED-CI certification, we actually surpassed it with a certification of LEED Platinum." The Seattle office was designed to attain LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) certification. LEED for Commercial Interiors focuses on tenant improvements in interior spaces in single and multi-tenant buildings. The Silicon Valley office was designed to attain LEED-EB (Existing Building) certification. LEED for Existing Buildings establishes a set of performance standards for the sustainable upgrades and operation of existing buildings. Both spaces were designed to achieve LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. LEED verifies environmental performance, occupant health and financial return. LEED was established for market leaders to design and construct buildings that protect and save precious resources while also making good economic sense. Seattle office Managing Partner Stephen Graham said, "We are committed to running our firm as good corporate citizens. We believe that we must not only be outstanding lawyers, but we must be leaders in our communities. Fenwick has worked to revolutionize energy usage and improve sustainable practices on a daily basis. We are pleased that these efforts have been recognized." Fenwick & West Managing Partner Kate Fritz said, "Over a year and a half ago, Fenwick & West was the first law firm certified by Santa Clara County as an environmentally sustainable 'Green Business' for the steps we had taken to employ sustainable practices to conserve natural resources. We thoroughly reviewed our day-to-day operations in order and assessed the ways Fenwick could and did conserve energy and reduce pollution, waste and water use."
