Small Law Firms

Lawyers Have Much To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has not hurt lawyers as much as individuals in other industries.

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This year will likely go down as one of the worst in recent memory. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage and has led to an unfathomably high level of loss and suffering. In addition, even though the economy has recovered from its low of several months ago, many people are still out of work and in trouble financially. Yet, numerous lawyers still have many reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving season.

Lawyers are extremely lucky that our industry has not been as affected by current conditions as much as other parts of the economy. Indeed, many law firms are able to continue operating, albeit with some challenges. This distinguishes us from retail, hospitality, and other industries that have been completely devastated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The fact that lawyers are able to more or less continue operating at a similar level as before the pandemic has softened the financial pain many lawyers have felt. Of course, many law firms instituted layoffs, furloughs, and salary cuts at the beginning of the pandemic. However, as this website has detailed at length in several prior articles, many firms have eliminated salary cuts, and some have even reimbursed lawyers for money they were not paid earlier in the year. Some firms have reversed course on furloughs as well. Of course, the legal industry, like many other sectors of the economy, has endured permanent job losses as a result of the pandemic, but the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has not hurt lawyers as much as it has individuals in other industries.

Many lawyers should also be thankful because we are capable of working remotely (for the most part). Many workers need to show up in person to complete their jobs. This not only includes healthcare workers, but also individuals who work in hospitality, real estate, and even some other office jobs. Being able to work remotely means that many lawyers are able to complete their jobs while minimizing their risk of being exposed to COVID-19. In addition, being able to work from home means that attorneys have an easier time juggling child care, healthcare needs, personal matters, and everything else all of us are contending with.

Of course, some attorneys and support professionals are being forced back to offices, which I predicted would happen toward the beginning of the pandemic. Sometimes, there are legitimate reasons to return to offices, but many times, managers are forcing workers back to offices to supposedly increase their productivity or since they can’t bear the thought of paying for an unused office (more on this in a future article). Nevertheless, the vast number of lawyers are able to work from home, which has made dealing with the ongoing pandemic far easier.

Numerous lawyers should also be thankful that we are doing better financially than individuals in many other industries. Of course, some practice areas have definitely slowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, there are fewer real estate deals occurring in the present environment, litigation has slowed, and any cyclical practice areas are suffering as the economy has faced challenges in recent months. However, numerous practice areas have remained steady, and some practice areas have expanded because of the ongoing pandemic. Many firms have adapted to meet the current needs of their clients, and some firms may be able to expand their expertise in the future because of their experiences during the pandemic.

Lawyers should also be thankful because many law firms were able to take part in government assistance programs designed to help businesses impacted by COVID-19. For instance, many law firms were eligible to participate in the Payroll Protection Program, and judging from my LinkedIn feed, many law firms big and small of which I am familiar took part. In addition, numerous law firms also took advantage of programs sponsored by FEMA and the SBA in order to make it through the earlier parts of the pandemic. Many businesses were unable to participate in such programs, since restaurants, hotels, and other businesses were unable to keep the requisite number of people on the payroll to obtain the benefits of these initiatives. Of course, businesses of all types and sizes also took part in such programs, but lawyers should count themselves lucky that they had the support of these initiatives.

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Naturally, the legal profession has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just like any other industry. Some titans of our profession passed away due to the virus (and other valued lawyers were thankfully able to recover from COVID-19). In addition, lawyers, just like everyone else, have had to deal with the everyday suffering and inconvenience caused by the COVID-19. However, as we begin the Thanksgiving holiday, lawyers should recognize that we have many reasons to be thankful this season.

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

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