May Edition 2020

19 While it is still early to fully understand the long-lasting effects of Covid-19, one thing appears certain - the legal industry, as will many others, will be different afterwards. It is widely believed that law firms and in-house departments will be transformed, and that the pandemic will usher the legal sector more fully into the digital age and lead to an integration of business practices. In this article, we asked senior legal and marketing professionals for their thoughts and insights on how Covid-19 will impact the legal industry. Q: What have been the most pressing concerns for partners in law firms since the outbreak? Ross Fishman, CEO Fishman Marketing: Lawyers who have been on the margins are seeing their contracts terminated. A friend of mine, a terrific trial lawyer, was recently let go. He was a senior partner in a large law firm who had not managed his own clients in some years. The firm had been carrying him on the books at a reduced compensation for a while because their business was good. Now that business is down, they used this as the excuse to fire him and other less-productive lawyers. When business comes back, the firm will look even more profitable because they will only employ the most productive partners. So, this is a particularly important time for partners to reach out to their most important contacts with real care and authenticity, to seek to help them through this crisis. It is the time to solidify their relationships, even if they’re not able to bill for the work. When businesses are in crisis, they’ll remember those who helped them through these difficult times. Hopefully, it will lead to billable work, now or in the future. Either way, it’s the decent, caring thing to do. Paul Smith, former Global Chairman of Eversheds Sutherland: The biggest challenge for most firms has been preserving cash flow and they have responded by cutting pay, delaying partner profits, furloughing staff, part time working, freezing recruitment and cutting all discretionary spending. Difficult conversations are being had with lenders.Of the top 100 UK law firms 20% had less than £1 million in cash reserves. Staying solvent is the priority and many firms were in distress before the current crisis with How Will the Legal Industry Change Post Covid-19?