<PAGE>   1

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 8, 1997

                                                 REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 333-
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                   ----------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                   ----------

                       TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

        Maryland                                      94-3175659
(State of incorporation)                 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

                       FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER, SUITE 3150
                         SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111
                                 (415) 391-4300

   (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
                   Registrant's principal executive offices)

                       TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.
                            1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                                   ----------

                                 MARK S. WHITING
                      PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                       TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.
                       FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER, SUITE 3150
                         SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111
                                 (415) 391-4300

 (Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,
                             of agent for service)

                                   ----------

                                 With copies to:
                              DAVID W. WATSON, ESQ.
                           GOODWIN, PROCTER & HOAR LLP
                                 Exchange Place
                                 53 State Street
                        Boston, Massachusetts 02109-2881
                                 (617) 570-1000

                                   ----------

<TABLE>
                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<CAPTION>
=================================================================================================================
 Title of Securities   Amount to be    Proposed Maximum Offering   Proposed Maximum Aggregate       Amount of
  Being Registered     Registered(1)       Price Per Share              Offering Price           Registration Fee
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                    <C>                   <C>                        <C>                        <C>      

 Common Stock .....    800,000 shares        $35.56(2)                  $28,448,000(2)             $8,620.61

=================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)  Plus such additional number of shares as may be required pursuant to the
     1997 Stock Incentive Plan in the event of a stock dividend, reverse stock
     split, split-up, recapitalization or other similar event.

(2)  This estimate is made pursuant to Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of
     1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), solely for purposes of determining
     the registration fee.

================================================================================




<PAGE>   2


                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT


Item 3.  Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.
         -----------------------------------------------

        TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, Inc. (the "Company") hereby incorporates
by reference the documents listed in (a) through (j) below, which have
previously been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

        (a)     The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
                ended December 31, 1996.

        (b)     The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
                quarter ended March 31, 1997.

        (c)     The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
                quarter ended June 30, 1997.

        (d)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 4, 1997.

        (e)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 28,
                1997.

        (f)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 27, 1997,
                as amended by the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed
                on April 30, 1997.

        (h)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 30, 1997.

        (i)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 9, 1997.

        (j)     The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
                Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the Securities
                and Exchange Commission on April 28, 1993, under Section 12 of
                the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange
                Act"), and any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of
                updating such description.

        In addition, all documents subsequently filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 13(c), Section
14 and Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the filing of a post-effective
amendment hereto that indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been
sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed
to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of filing of such documents.


Item 4.  Description of Securities.
         -------------------------

         Not Applicable.


Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
         --------------------------------------

         Not Applicable.


Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
         -----------------------------------------

         The Company's Articles of Incorporation, as amended, limit the 
liability of the Company's Directors and officers to the Company and its
stockholders to the fullest extent permitted from time to time by Maryland law.
Maryland law presently permits the liability of Directors and officers to a
corporation or its stockholders for money damages to be limited, except (i) to
the extent that it is proved that the Director or officer actually received an
improper benefit or profit, or (ii) if a judgment or other final adjudication is
entered in a proceeding based on a finding that the Director's or officer's
action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty
and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. This
provision does not limit the ability of the Company or its stockholders to
obtain other relief, such as an injunction or rescission.

         The Company's Bylaws, as amended, require the Company to indemnify its
Directors, officers and certain other parties to the fullest extent permitted
from time to time by Maryland law. The Maryland General Corporation Law permits
a corporation to indemnify its Directors, officers and certain other parties
against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses
actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may




<PAGE>   3


be made a party by reason of their service to or at the request of the
corporation, unless it is established that the act or omission of the
indemnified party was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and
(i) was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate
dishonesty, (ii) the indemnified party actually received an improper personal
benefit, or (iii) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the indemnified party
had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.

         Pursuant to the authority granted in the Company's Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws, the Company has also entered into indemnification
agreements with the Independent Directors which provide for indemnification to
the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law.


Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.
         -----------------------------------

         Not applicable.


Item 8.  Exhibits.
         --------

         The following is a complete list of exhibits filed or incorporated by
reference as part of this registration statement.

     Exhibit
     -------

        5.1     Opinion of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP as to the legality of the
                securities being registered.
        23.1    Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., Independent Accountants.
        24.1    Powers of Attorney (included on page 4 of this registration
                statement).


Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------
  
        (a)     The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                (1)     To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
        being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

                        (i)     To include any prospectus required by Section
                10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

                        (ii)    To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                arising after the effective date of the registration statement
                (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
                in the information set forth in the registration statement.
                Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in
                volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of
                securities offered would not exceed that which was registered)
                and any deviation from the low or high and of the estimated
                maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of
                prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if,
                in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no
                more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering
                price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table
                in the effective registration statement; and

                        (iii)   To include any material information with respect
                to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
                registration statement or any material change to such
                information in the registration statement;

        provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) herein do
        not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
        amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by
        the undersigned registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of
        the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration
        statement;

                (2)     That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
        the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed
        to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
        therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
        deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and




                                       2
<PAGE>   4


                (3)     To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
        amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
        the termination of the offering.

(b)             The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes 
        of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of
        the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
        Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit
        plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that
        is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
        deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
        offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
        be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c)             Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
        Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
        persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or
        otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the
        Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against
        public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore,
        unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
        such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses
        incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
        registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding)
        is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
        connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will,
        unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by
        controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the
        question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
        expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
        adjudication of such issue.







                                       3
<PAGE>   5


                                   SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of San Francisco, California, on September 5, 1997.



                              TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.


                              By: /s/ Mark S. Whiting
                                  -------------------------------------
                                  Mark S. Whiting
                                  President and Chief Executive Officer


                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

        KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, the undersigned officers and
directors of TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, Inc. hereby severally constitute
Robert W. Holman, Jr., Mark S. Whiting and A. William Stein, and each of them
singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full power to them, and each of them
singly, to sign for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below, the
Registration Statement filed herewith and any and all amendments to said
Registration Statement, and generally to do all such things in our names and in
our capacities as officers and directors to enable TriNet Corporate Realty
Trust, Inc. to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and all
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming our signatures as they may be signed by our said attorneys, or any of
them, to said Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto.

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.
          
       SIGNATURE                     CAPACITY                        DATE
       ---------                     --------                        ----

/s/ Robert W. Holman             Chairman of the Board         September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
ROBERT W. HOLMAN, JR.                                                           
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Jay H. Shidler               Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
JAY H. SHIDLER                                                                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Willis Andersen, Jr.         Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
WILLIS ANDERSEN, JR.                                                            
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ John G. McDonald             Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
JOHN G. MCDONALD                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Robert S. Morris             Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
ROBERT S. MORRIS                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Stephen B. Oresman           Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
STEPHEN B. ORESMAN                                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Mark S. Whiting              President, Chief Executive    September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------      Officer and Director                           
MARK S. WHITING                  (Principal Executive officer)                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ A. William Stein             Executive Vice President      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------      and Chief Financial Officer                    
A. WILLIAM STEIN                 (Principal Financial and                       
                                 Accounting Officer)                            





                                       4
<PAGE>   6


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No.                     Description
- ----------                      -----------


    5.1     Opinion of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP as to the legality of the
            securities being registered.

    23.1    Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., Independent Accountants.

    24.1    Powers of Attorney (included on page 4 of this registration
            statement).
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "TRINET 1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN", "secsgml_size_bytes": 19958}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST INC", "cik": "0000899162", "assigned-sic": "6798", "irs-number": "943175659", "state-of-incorporation": "MD", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "file-number": "333-35149", "film-number": "97676852"}, "business-address": {"street1": "FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER", "street2": "STE 3150", "city": "SAN FRANCISCO", "state": "CA", "zip": "94111", "phone": "4153914300"}}
1

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 8, 1997

                                                 REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 333-
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                   ----------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                   ----------

                       TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

        Maryland                                      94-3175659
(State of incorporation)                 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

                       FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER, SUITE 3150
                         SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111
                                 (415) 391-4300

   (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
                   Registrant's principal executive offices)

                       TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.
                            1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                                   ----------

                                 MARK S. WHITING
                      PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                       TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.
                       FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER, SUITE 3150
                         SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111
                                 (415) 391-4300

 (Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,
                             of agent for service)

                                   ----------

                                 With copies to:
                              DAVID W. WATSON, ESQ.
                           GOODWIN, PROCTER & HOAR LLP
                                 Exchange Place
                                 53 State Street
                        Boston, Massachusetts 02109-2881
                                 (617) 570-1000

                                   ----------

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
=================================================================================================================
 Title of Securities   Amount to be    Proposed Maximum Offering   Proposed Maximum Aggregate       Amount of
  Being Registered     Registered(1)       Price Per Share              Offering Price           Registration Fee
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock .....    800,000 shares        $35.56(2)                  $28,448,000(2)             $8,620.61

=================================================================================================================
(1)  Plus such additional number of shares as may be required pursuant to the
     1997 Stock Incentive Plan in the event of a stock dividend, reverse stock
     split, split-up, recapitalization or other similar event.

(2)  This estimate is made pursuant to Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of
     1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), solely for purposes of determining
     the registration fee.

================================================================================
2

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.
         -----------------------------------------------

        TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, Inc. (the "Company") hereby incorporates
by reference the documents listed in (a) through (j) below, which have
previously been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

        (a)     The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
                ended December 31, 1996.

        (b)     The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
                quarter ended March 31, 1997.

        (c)     The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
                quarter ended June 30, 1997.

        (d)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 4, 1997.

        (e)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 28,
                1997.

        (f)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 27, 1997,
                as amended by the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed
                on April 30, 1997.

        (h)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 30, 1997.

        (i)     The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 9, 1997.

        (j)     The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
                Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the Securities
                and Exchange Commission on April 28, 1993, under Section 12 of
                the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange
                Act"), and any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of
                updating such description.

        In addition, all documents subsequently filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 13(c), Section
14 and Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the filing of a post-effective
amendment hereto that indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been
sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed
to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.
         -------------------------

         Not Applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
         --------------------------------------

         Not Applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
         -----------------------------------------

         The Company's Articles of Incorporation, as amended, limit the 
liability of the Company's Directors and officers to the Company and its
stockholders to the fullest extent permitted from time to time by Maryland law.
Maryland law presently permits the liability of Directors and officers to a
corporation or its stockholders for money damages to be limited, except (i) to
the extent that it is proved that the Director or officer actually received an
improper benefit or profit, or (ii) if a judgment or other final adjudication is
entered in a proceeding based on a finding that the Director's or officer's
action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty
and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. This
provision does not limit the ability of the Company or its stockholders to
obtain other relief, such as an injunction or rescission.

         The Company's Bylaws, as amended, require the Company to indemnify its
Directors, officers and certain other parties to the fullest extent permitted
from time to time by Maryland law. The Maryland General Corporation Law permits
a corporation to indemnify its Directors, officers and certain other parties
against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses
actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may
3

be made a party by reason of their service to or at the request of the
corporation, unless it is established that the act or omission of the
indemnified party was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and
(i) was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate
dishonesty, (ii) the indemnified party actually received an improper personal
benefit, or (iii) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the indemnified party
had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.

         Pursuant to the authority granted in the Company's Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws, the Company has also entered into indemnification
agreements with the Independent Directors which provide for indemnification to
the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.
         -----------------------------------

         Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.
         --------

         The following is a complete list of exhibits filed or incorporated by
reference as part of this registration statement.

     Exhibit
     -------

        5.1     Opinion of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP as to the legality of the
                securities being registered.
        23.1    Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., Independent Accountants.
        24.1    Powers of Attorney (included on page 4 of this registration
                statement).

Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------
  
        (a)     The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                (1)     To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
        being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

                        (i)     To include any prospectus required by Section
                10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

                        (ii)    To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                arising after the effective date of the registration statement
                (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
                in the information set forth in the registration statement.
                Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in
                volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of
                securities offered would not exceed that which was registered)
                and any deviation from the low or high and of the estimated
                maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of
                prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if,
                in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no
                more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering
                price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table
                in the effective registration statement; and

                        (iii)   To include any material information with respect
                to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
                registration statement or any material change to such
                information in the registration statement;

        provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) herein do
        not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
        amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by
        the undersigned registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of
        the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration
        statement;

                (2)     That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
        the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed
        to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
        therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
        deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and

                                       2
4

                (3)     To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
        amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
        the termination of the offering.

(b)             The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes 
        of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of
        the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
        Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit
        plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that
        is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
        deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
        offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
        be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c)             Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
        Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
        persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or
        otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the
        Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against
        public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore,
        unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
        such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses
        incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
        registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding)
        is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
        connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will,
        unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by
        controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the
        question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
        expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
        adjudication of such issue.

                                       3
5

                                   SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of San Francisco, California, on September 5, 1997.

                              TRINET CORPORATE REALTY TRUST, INC.

                              By: /s/ Mark S. Whiting
                                  -------------------------------------
                                  Mark S. Whiting
                                  President and Chief Executive Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

        KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, the undersigned officers and
directors of TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, Inc. hereby severally constitute
Robert W. Holman, Jr., Mark S. Whiting and A. William Stein, and each of them
singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full power to them, and each of them
singly, to sign for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below, the
Registration Statement filed herewith and any and all amendments to said
Registration Statement, and generally to do all such things in our names and in
our capacities as officers and directors to enable TriNet Corporate Realty
Trust, Inc. to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and all
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming our signatures as they may be signed by our said attorneys, or any of
them, to said Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto.

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.
          
       SIGNATURE                     CAPACITY                        DATE
       ---------                     --------                        ----

/s/ Robert W. Holman             Chairman of the Board         September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
ROBERT W. HOLMAN, JR.                                                           
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Jay H. Shidler               Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
JAY H. SHIDLER                                                                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Willis Andersen, Jr.         Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
WILLIS ANDERSEN, JR.                                                            
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ John G. McDonald             Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
JOHN G. MCDONALD                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Robert S. Morris             Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
ROBERT S. MORRIS                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Stephen B. Oresman           Director                      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------                                                     
STEPHEN B. ORESMAN                                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ Mark S. Whiting              President, Chief Executive    September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------      Officer and Director                           
MARK S. WHITING                  (Principal Executive officer)                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
/s/ A. William Stein             Executive Vice President      September 5, 1997
- ---------------------------      and Chief Financial Officer                    
A. WILLIAM STEIN                 (Principal Financial and                       
                                 Accounting Officer)                            

                                       4
6

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.                     Description
- ----------                      -----------

    5.1     Opinion of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP as to the legality of the
            securities being registered.

    23.1    Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., Independent Accountants.

    24.1    Powers of Attorney (included on page 4 of this registration
            statement).