Things were starting to look up in the legal world. Many firms had reinstated pre-pandemic pay, and deal work, a major revenue generator for several large firms, was up 80% in Q3. Even the number of jobs in the industry is up, having added 3,100 positions, according to the September jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

That all changed very early Friday morning when the sitting U.S. president was diagnosed with COVID-19 and entered quarantine.