We are now into the sixth month of the COVID-19 pandemic and law firms across the country are entering the critical last quarter of the year. Historically, law firms collect between 30% and 50% of their annual revenues in the final 90 days of the calendar year. This year will be more challenging than prior years for a number of reasons.
The COVID 19/Pandemic/Shutdown has caused turmoil and upended benefit planning.
The pandemic has forced law firms to reevaluate their expenses, refine their budgets, and review their overall operations to adapt to an environment of perpetual uncertainty. To understand their approach, options, and considerations, LSQ engaged Ari Kaplan Advisors to benchmark a range of metrics and perspectives from leaders at an array of organizations.
Economists are increasingly gravitating to the concept of a "K-shaped" recovery following the steep plunge of the early days of the coronavirus crisis. With a slight tweak, that "K" may well serve as a useful depiction of law firm profitability in 2020: just add a horizontal third line at the center.
As a firm leader it is your fiscal responsibility to address underperforming attorneys. With COVID-19 are your underperformers flying under the radar? The cost to a firm is not only to the bottom line, but to your reputation as a leader.
We're never going back the way we were — and this will be to the benefit of firms, profitability, clients and lawyers if we make the right technology investments. Here's some specific ways firms can capture these benefits.
A key aspect of saving for retirement through qualified retirement plans and IRAs is deferring taxes until required minimum distributions (RMD) begin. Even with Roth IRAs, beneficiaries who inherit them must also follow RMD rules despite the tax-free treatment of the distributions. The SECURE Act and the CARES Act made dramatic changes in RMD rules for 2020 and beyond.
Some Firms Are Forming Subsidiaries to Deliver Legal Services In New Ways Buyers have a broader slate of options in 2020 than ever before, whether that means handling more work in-house, hiring temporary lawyers during a crunch, or turning to a recently launched "alternative provider" to address the massive pile of contracts they need to manage.
PR is earned and sustainable, especially during a crisis. That's why PR is positioned to step up, take a leadership position and have the greatest impact on company reputation during tumultuous times. The focus and approach necessarily changes during a crisis, but the work should go on.
The Ben Franklin Strategy Benjamin Franklin will never know this, but he gave us the only social media strategy we need: "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." In the middle of the COVID-19 health crisis, there's never been a better time for a legal marketing professional to look for the good she or he can highlight within their communities, within their firms or companies, or for individual people.
