2023 already was shaping up to be a pressure-cooker for legal departments. Events in recent days have turned up that pressure a few notches.

For starters, let's look at studies and surveys, which show CEOs are almost positive the economy will slide into a recession in the next 12 months. I reported on a survey of global CEOs that placed the likelihood at 86%. The Conference Board, meanwhile, placed the likelihood of a U.S. recession in that span at 96%.

Then we have the deluge of third-quarter earnings reports, which show companies are starting to feel the pain. The reports from Google and Microsoft released Tuesday afternoon were so disappointing that by the end of the day investors had erased a total of $140 billion in market values from the companies.