Biglaw May Soon Have Some Financial Troubles Thanks To COVID-19

They need to keep an eye on their cash -- before it disappears.

onMay 14, 2020 at 3:15 PMMay 14, 2020 at 2:42 PM

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This year may have begun solidly, but we are now in an unanticipated recession and the landscape looks very different for law firms in this second quarter and beyond. We anticipate that first-half results will be challenging. Managing cash flow—from recording time to collecting on inventory to managing expenses—will be key. And as we hear from many law firms, so will staying close to clients and finding ways to bring value to them in these unprecedented and troubling times.

— Gretta Rusanow, managing director and head of advisory services within Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, noting that while Biglaw had a decent first quarter, many challenges lie ahead, with median projections of 15 percent declines in second-quarter demand and revenue, both of which are driven by an estimated 11 percent lengthening of the collection cycle.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.