HybridHero founder Chris Burke joins Marilyn Jenkins on Leadership In Law, the podcast for law firm owners and managing partners. The subject is the second biggest cost in most firms after people: the office. Chris’s point is simple. Once a firm grows past about a hundred people, nobody can tell by feel how the space is being used, so partners end up making high-stakes decisions about floors, leases and hybrid work policy on guesswork.
The idea for HybridHero came from the consulting business Chris ran before it. Two large banking clients had staff sitting in corridors or working from a coffee shop because there was no desk, and the planning ran on spreadsheets. The platform he built instead gives leadership one view of the whole real estate footprint: who uses which desks, rooms and parking bays, when, and whether the in-office policy is actually being followed. Staff book a whole week in a few seconds from the app, and swipe-card or badge data the firm already collects feeds the same picture.
The conversation covers the “no data” black holes that show a whole team is not checking in, why a hybrid policy fails without structure such as regular one-to-ones and defined goals, and how firms with several offices let travelling attorneys grab a desk in a different city without emailing an assistant. Chris closes with a reality check on AI and why junior lawyers still need mentoring in person.
What is Leadership In Law and who is the host?
Leadership In Law is a podcast for law firm owners, managing partners and attorneys, hosted by Marilyn Jenkins of Law Marketing Zone. Chris Burke appears in season 4, episode 175, released 21 September 2026.
Why does Chris say law firms are guessing about office space?
Because the data lives in different places. Facilities managers, executive assistants and team leads each hold part of the picture, so partners have no single view of how desks, meeting rooms and floors are really used. Chris describes one Australian client who spent about two days a month compiling separate office reports for the board.
How much can a law firm save on real estate with utilisation data?
Chris’s experience is that most firms are leaving around 10 percent of real estate cost on the table at the start, and many can cut 20 percent. He gives the example of a large London firm that thought it had no fat to trim and cut 18 percent after running the model for two months.
Does HybridHero track staff like a time clock?
No. The point is to show whether the firm’s own in-office policy is working, using badge or swipe-card data the firm already stores. Reports can be viewed by team, desk or, where privacy law allows, individual. Staff can also mark themselves on secondment, at a client site or working from home so the picture stays accurate.
Does it work for a firm with several offices?
Yes, out of the box. An attorney travelling from one city to another looks at the live floor plan for that office, picks a green desk, meeting room or parking bay and books it in seconds, instead of going back and forth with an assistant. Desks can be open to anyone, request-only, or reserved for a person or team.
What does the platform include beyond desks?
Meeting rooms, parking, visitor management and emergency messaging to a floor, building or whole company, all in one platform with a web login and native iOS and Android apps. Chris also mentions firms using it to cap the number of dogs in the office each day.