With the business landscape undergoing constant and sometimes unpredictable change, in-house counsel are expected to drive value and stability and act as business partners, not just legal advisers.

Innovative law firms can support in-house counsel by working in concert to develop fresh strategies to meet their clients' business goals. Firms must be partners who can think through the unexpected outcomes and inevitable changes that come with crises such as COVID-19, and they must support legal departments that find themselves strapped for resources while facing novel issues.

At Hogan Lovells, we drive innovation through frequent communication with our clients about what they need and value in outside counsel. With all hands on deck, we're developing new ways to support our clients meaningfully and creatively as we support efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic together.

Here's some of what we're hearing:

• In a new world, we have to provide new ways of solving problems.

The world is in a moment of sudden change that could have profound impacts, and no one can be entirely certain of the outcome. Clients are looking for practical, tailored advice from advisers they genuinely trust. Firms that can deliver specific, reliable guidance alongside creative options for cost certainty, efficiency and delivery will be at an advantage.

And in these uncertain times, it's important to think beyond traditional support. We recently helped the Kraft Group/New England Patriots on a pro bono effort to obtain government approval to pick up 1.3 million N95 masks from China and deliver them to Massachusetts using the Patriots' team plane. Business as usual? Absolutely not. Now completely necessary? Definitely.

• Innovation is driven by true collaboration.

Genuinely innovative legal service providers add value by listening and providing creative solutions that take into careful consideration clients' goals, operations, budget and culture. They also work with in-house counsel flexibly and creatively, whether on matter staffing or where and how clients engage in the workflow.

Sharing knowledge both ways is critical. One telecommunications sector client told us, "what we are looking for from our law firms is to start to think about how technology platforms developed for one client would be useful for us too. If we can collaborate with a law firm that has tools that can help with due diligence or negotiations, for example, by all means offer that up."

• Help the in-house team meet business goals.

Legal departments are now being called on to bring every solution for efficiency and cost-certainty to the table, and firms with an innovative edge can help general counsel lead that process. One first step: offer a frank conversation around fees. Firms that can have that talk and then offer thoughtful approaches to meet with client expectations can earn clients' trust and loyalty.

Deploying the right technology can also increase efficiency and drive profitability, but investing in the latest trend and hoping it will magically fix challenges can drain resources instead. Innovative law firms think through difficult problems by first understanding existing processes and potential bottlenecks. We test possible solutions, including for example deploying artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms or new communications tools or billing applications. And we remain nimble throughout the process—testing is important, but it's also possible to implement incremental changes that can increase efficiency quickly. At Hogan Lovells, we use a mix of proprietary technologies, licensed solutions, and vendor partners to deliver tailored tools for speed, results, and efficiencies on an industry, practice, and client level.

To maximize value, firms and clients need to act together. One Fortune 50 GC told us that while they would be glad to share the tremendous amount of data they have with firms to help solve their challenges, very few have actually asked for it.

Ultimately, finding the right strategy is an ongoing conversation, and innovative firms must be able to pivot alongside their clients' priorities.

• Industry experience is critical.

Good outside counsel is often viewed as an extension of the in-house legal department. No matter how strong a practice group may be, without a deep understanding of a company's industry, outside counsel may require added ramp-up time on certain issues. We've built our firm's foundation around an industry focus so our clients know that their lawyer understands the business needs and can quickly spot and respond to risks, problems and opportunities that matter. A general counsel at a telehealth company, for example, likely doesn't need generic updates on health care regulatory changes; she wants to know how they impact the telehealth sector specifically. She needs a lawyer who is closely monitoring her industry and her business—now more than ever.

A fluent industry understanding also allows innovative firms to help companies manage a crisis by offering proven playbooks, infrastructure, and resources that can expedite solutions. We've further developed that capability through our crisis leadership team, which brings together lawyers across industries, regions and practices to provide exactly the tools that clients need in challenging times.

• Diverse teams deliver better, more innovative results.

General counsels are increasingly holding law firms accountable for diversity and inclusion, which is great. Given the prominence of corporate counsel diversity initiatives, we don't expect that accountability to diminish or evaporate in the face of the pandemic or any related market shift. In fact, we're seeing more requests to meet specific diversity staffing levels and requests to work with specific diverse individuals at the firm.

Diverse teams deliver better results for clients and allow us to tackle problems in a much more innovative manner. We partner with clients to integrate and make strategic investments into their diversity and inclusion programs, and we look forward to continuing those efforts.

No one knows exactly what the future holds, but we do know that innovation will come from these difficult times. Firms need to embrace these changes and work with clients and adapt together for a new reality.

Mark W. Brennan is Hogan Lovells' lead innovation partner and part of the firm's global regulatory practice. He is based in Washington, D.C.