Like the weather in Chicago, the legal market has been changeable. On the demand side, it pretty much stalled in the pandemic, then it went nuts for 18 months, and now it's contracting — fast.

In response, some firms went all in on the talent wars; they made hay while the sun was shining and then came the clouds and the inevitable layoffs. They might argue that this was client driven, but in reality it was demand driven, and these are very different things.

Meanwhile, some other firms maintained a consistent trajectory throughout. Maybe not at a steady pace, but with a consistent identity and a clear purpose — to advance their offerings. These firms tended to have a good development strategy that focused on what matters to clients, such as harnessing tech to talent, embracing diversity and innovating to solve their clients' problems more effectively.

For all firms there are multiple moving parts, opportunities and challenges. That's what happens in a volatile market. But if the identity of the firm is client-facing, this won't change, they'll just adapt and find better methods.

Clients pick up on these things. GCs tell us that when they look at law firms, they're interested in the identity and the story. Is this firm on a journey that resonates with me? What are their values? How are they trying to adapt to support clients? And the topic we covered in a previous lesson, who are they in it for?

After the market turbulence of the last few years, law firm leaders are scratching their heads trying to figure out 2023 and beyond. That's understandable, but like the Chicago weather, all you can predict is unpredictability. This being so, the best strategy for a volatile legal market is the same as for a calm one: pay attention to clients' needs and adapt to support them.