There is no question that we are currently experiencing a
global economic downturn. The ONLY question is how long it will last, and how
deep and broad the impact will be. A recession (in any individual country) is formally
declared after a fall in gross domestic product (GDP) for two consecutive
calendar quarters. But, most law firms and other companies don’t have the
luxury or time to wait to act until a formal recession is declared.
Here are nine things to consider doing soon:
1. Take
note from what’s worked in the past to survive and thrive during and after a
recession. Here are the top five lessons CEOs learned on how to survive and
thrive during and after the recession of the mid- to late 1990s:
1.
Respond rapidly to economic changes
2.
Recruit
and hire top talent
3.
Reposition
company/firm for growth
4.
Maintain
business plan(s)
5.
Continue
to invest in marketing
2. As soon as possible, law firm
leaders should formally assess their business model, current strategic plan(s),
service and talent matrix, client base, operational efficiencies/technology, budgets,
and planned investments in order to make the best possible strategic choices in
the face of this unprecedented uncertainty. When conducting the assessment,
consider the below and whether an experienced outside strategist/consultant who
has been through prior recessions (and helped law firms successfully get
through them) can add value and new perspectives. In full disclosure, I am one
such strategist and consultant, so if I can be of service, please contact me (julie@busdevinc.com).
3. On the client side, corporations,
entities, boards, CEOs, COOs, general counsel and in-house counsel are actively
considering how to conserve costs and resources by assessing what is essential
and what can be delayed, postponed, done differently or eliminated. For
example, increasing numbers of claims and litigation are being settled to
conserve company costs, resources and risks.
4. What types of legal work are, and will
be increasing and most in demand during and after this economic downturn/recession?
§
Bankruptcy and workouts
§
Corporate transactions – contracts, financing,
deals
§
Governance and compliance
§
Health care
§
Insurance and insurance coverage
§
Labor, employment and employee benefits
§
Litigation
§
Privacy and data security
§
Securities
§
Trusts and estates
5. Related to 4. above, which practice areas should you
assess, redeploy, reconfigure or retool? For example, many deals, M&As,
transactions, and litigation have been put on hold or tabled for the time
being. More info can be found here -
https://bit.ly/33mEpYQ
6. Emotions are overcoming logic more than ever, and the
level of stress almost every human is feeling as a result of the pandemic is
higher than ever. As a result, be especially mindful of the content, tone and
delivery of all communications. Strive to make them appropriate, empathic,
useful, important and/or valuable. Ask for an experienced, objective and
independent third-party review of all or all mass or large-scale communications
before distributing them.
7. Online and virtual communications, especially via trusted
social media platforms most used by businesses and professionals, such as LinkedIn
and Twitter, are and will become increasingly used, relied on and important.
Below is a recent LinkedIn post I did on this topic:
Most #lawyers, #lawfirms &
other #professionalservices firms are missing out on LinkedIn’s (LI’s) reach
& power. Here are 4 reasons why LI is important …
1)
LI
has the largest global B2B reach (or one of the largest) of ANY media (whether
traditional or online). On LI, there are currently over 10M profiles with the
title of CEO or equivalent & over 800K with general/in-house counsel
titles. No other single medium comes close to that reach.
2)
Virtual
online thought leadership is & will become increasingly important.
3)
Compared
with the number of “followers” major #accounting & #consulting firms have
on their LI company pages (see image … most have MILLIONS of followers), almost
all other firms have less than 0.5%-1% of that. Now is the time to create
& implement a strategic plan to increase the number of followers on your
firm’s LI company page.
4)
On
most firms’ LI company pages, posts are mainly about firm events & firm
news. Generating more proactive, useful & compelling content on LinkedIn is
an opportunity most #attorneys, professionals & firms are missing.
Contact me, Julie Savarino (
julie@busdevinc.com), if you would like
additional information or assistance creating & implementing a plan to
upgrade content or increase followers.
8. In law firms where most of the marketing, client and
business development activities, efforts and communications are implemented in
an ad hoc, uncoordinated manner, now is the time to coordinate them
(using a person, department and/or CRM system) to maximize the results from the
time and investment, conserve firm resources and avoid overlapping, conflicting
or redundant communications to clients, prospective clients and referral
sources.
9. Even in the up-till-now booming economy, one of the
top complaints law firm clients make about outside lawyers is that they fail to
initiate proactive communications, unprompted communications or outreach.
Outside lawyers are perceived by most clients as way too reactive. So,
in this current situation of uncertainty and rapid change, initiating proactive
outreach with key clients to ask them about the above could not be more
important or effective, especially for clients operating in either the most
negatively hard-hit sectors (e.g., health care, transportation, travel,
lodging, event planning, suppliers, etc.) or the sectors that may be benefiting
from the current crisis (e.g., medical supplies/devices, online entertainment,
online communications, computers, etc.).
There are myriad other strategies, tactics and tools that law
firms can use to survive and thrive during this challenging time. Please
contact me if you would like more information or to set up a time to talk.
Thank you,
Julie Savarino
+1 (734) 276-1900
