The Pulse

To say that the COVID-19 pandemic caused uncertainty and economic strife all over the world in 2020 would be an understatement. Law firms and the legal industry as a whole were not immune to these effects, seeing declines in revenue and staffing overall. That’s overall, but not all. To the surprise of many, though maybe not to these firms themselves, there was a significant number of firms that increased revenue over 20% in 2020, according to the High Growth Study 2021 conducted by the Hinge Institute.

Thanks to the pandemic, law firm marketing, sales, and business development (BD) efforts took a massive hit in 2020—much like other commercial functions. As the latest 2021 LexisNexis InterAction Marketing & Business Development Survey reveals, 66% of law firms found their BD and sales to be more difficult, requiring professionals to devise new strategies to win new business and retain existing clients. Interestingly, the firms that overcame challenges and found growth approached marketing differently versus the firms that found themselves in the status quo camp; i.e., those that achieved no business growth.