This article appeared in Marketing the Law Firm, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication reporting on the latest, and most effective, strategies for Chief Marketing Officers, Managing Partners, Law Firm Marketing Directors, Administrators and Consultants.

Few law firms entered 2020 with a crisis communications plan on hand that could even begin to address the immense challenges introduced by a sudden global pandemic. As lockdowns began in March, offices emptied and remote workforces took shape practically overnight, individual and collective anxiety skyrocketed, and an industry infamous for being slow to change was forced to do just that.

Firms' ability to quickly — but not rashly — and effectively convey necessary information and the appropriate messaging to diverse clientele took on unprecedented importance. Meanwhile, journalists began clamoring for information about the impact of the pandemic on law firm business, the practical matters of lawyering in a new virtual world and legal issues related to the pandemic.