Featured in the ILTA Fall Peer-to-Peer Issue
Written by AshLea Allberry, COO of Maptician
The legal workplace is undergoing a slow but significant transformation. Five years after the onset of the pandemic, the office is no longer a presumed destination but a tool—one that firms must actively design, manage, and justify. Utilization remains a key challenge. In early 2025, average law firm occupancy across major U.S. cities is hovering between 55% and 60%, depending on the day of the week, with Tuesdays peaking and Fridays hitting historic lows. This represents a significant decline from pre-pandemic levels, which reached 90% or higher in February 2020 before the rapid pivot to remote work began.
In this new reality, workplace leaders are moving beyond managing seat maps. They are seeking balance: using data and design to create offices that not only optimize space but also strengthen collaboration, well-being, and client engagement. They aim to reduce unused space, improve collaboration, and support attorney autonomy, all while protecting culture and mentorship. Real estate strategies reflect this shift: while some firms continue to reduce space per attorney, others are reinvesting in Class A buildings and enhanced amenities that reflect a “flight to quality.” At the same time, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals are influencing real estate decisions, as firms strive to reduce energy consumption and office waste.
Return-to-office policies are also evolving. The early compliance issues that plagued 2021–2022 have given way to more defined expectations. Some firms now require attorneys to be in the office four days per week; others offer structured flexibility tied to team-based collaboration. Regardless of the approach, most firms are moving toward intentional workplace planning, supported by data, policy, and technology.
A Strategic Lens on Change Through Maptician’s 2025 Survey
In this environment of experimentation and recalibration, Maptician surveyed law firms across the Am Law 100-200 to better understand how workplace trends are taking shape on the ground. The findings reveal not only how firms are adjusting, but also what challenges remain.
A central shift lies in the structure of seating itself. Over 58% of surveyed firms report increasing flexible seating, such as hoteling, while less than 20% added more assigned seating. At the same time, nearly half (46%) of firms reduced their ratio of seats to total professionals, indicating continued pressure to rationalize space. These changes reflect a recognition that fixed seating models are no longer practical or preferred in environments with fluctuating attendance.
However, the data also reveal a paradox: even as firms embrace flexibility, they are also expanding collaboration space, with respondents indicating an average 4.6% increase in square footage dedicated to meetings and group work. This investment is driven by a combination of factors, including increased peak-day attendance, a rise in cross-functional team structures, and a growing reliance on face-to-face interactions for mentorship and business development. For workplace leaders, this is a strategic pivot. Offices are no longer just physical assets; they are collaboration hubs designed to foster mentorship, teamwork, attorney well-being, and stronger client outcomes.
Technology is another differentiator. In 2023, most firms had not yet adopted workplace management tools to support hybrid work. Today, over 50% of firms report using at least one dedicated system, and nearly 27% have adopted new platforms within the past two years. This marks a shift toward operational maturity—especially for firms using tools that integrate seat booking, visitor coordination, and space analytics into a single platform—providing leaders with the data and analytics they need to design strategy, not just space.
Even more revealing is what drives attendance. The survey shows that firms continue to rely on incentive-based strategies, such as in-office events and team-driven schedules, rather than punitive mandates. This supports broader market observations: firms that link presence to purpose—through mentoring, client interaction, or shared rituals—are more successful in sustaining in-office momentum.
Taken together, the 2025 survey illustrates a legal workplace that is more agile, more technology-enabled, and increasingly tailored to human behavior. But it also highlights a persistent gap: flexibility without structure can lead to underutilization, inefficiency, and confusion. That is where data—and platforms like Maptician—play a defining role.
What Has Changed Since 2023?
The transformation becomes even clearer when we compare 2025 to the 2023 Maptician Attorney Engagement Report. In 2023, the industry was still in a state of limbo: many firms had implemented hybrid policies, but few had invested in the tools or processes needed to support them.
In 2023, just 51.9% of seats were hoteling, and 46.1% were permanent or assigned. Utilization rates told a stark story: firms with permanent seating saw average occupancy rates of 57.8%, while hoteling-based offices averaged only 23.7%. Technology adoption was limited, with 60% of firms reporting no new workplace tech, and Microsoft Outlook being the most commonly cited tool for managing workplace coordination.
By contrast, 2025 reveals a more structured, strategic environment. Firms have increased flexible seating, expanded collaboration zones, and embraced workplace management tools. While utilization rates have not been formally measured across the whole 2025 survey cohort, anecdotal and national trend data suggest that law firm occupancy rates have risen but still fall short of pre-pandemic levels—with averages clustering in the 55–60% range, and peaking mid-week (https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/legal/state-of-the-us-legal-market-2025/; ….).
This slow progression underscores a fundamental reality: cultural change takes time. But it also highlights the opportunity: firms that invest in presence-driven design, dynamic seating models, and real-time space analytics are better positioned to realize the full value of their offices.
Strategic Implications for Law Firms in 2025 and Beyond
The legal workplace is becoming more flexible—but also more complex. Space is no longer a static asset. It is dynamic, multi-use, and susceptible to behavior and culture. Law firms that treat it as such will be the ones that lead the next phase of transformation.
To move forward, firms must first rethink space as a strategic tool. This means not just reducing square footage, but recalibrating it to support the way attorneys actually work. Collaboration space must be intentionally designed. Hoteling systems must be intuitive. Visitor coordination must be seamless. Offices must feel like places people want to go—not relics of a pre-2020 model.
Second, firms must recognize that technology is now essential infrastructure. A fragmented set of tools—one for room booking, another for visitor check-in, and yet another for seating—is no longer sufficient. Firms need unified platforms that can deliver real-time data, automate logistics, and provide actionable insights for planning and strategy.
Third, law firm leaders must remember that flexibility is only adequate when paired with purpose. Offering attorneys the option to work remotely is essential—but without cultural rituals, peer alignment, and incentives to engage in person, flexibility can devolve into disengagement.
And finally, data must become a management discipline. Static headcounts or badge swipe data are no longer enough. Firms need ongoing visibility into who is using what space, when, and why. Only then can workplace leaders align real estate, technology, and culture to build the law firm office of the future—an office that supports attorney well-being, enhances client experience, and drives strategic growth.
