'Uncertain' is most likely how we could define the current world outlook. The worldwide calamity of both the financial and the real estate sectors has sponsored the first ever global crisis, with unsuspected dimensions and an unknown ending. Such crisis has inevitably spread to many countries, therefore wounding many sectors. The legal sector has not been exempt from this situation and has suffered the cruelty of the crisis as well, seeing major redundancies and layoffs in many strategic markets of the world.

When it comes to Spain, the economy is suffering heavily from the burst real estate bubble as well as from the financial crisis. Unemployment figures are above 14%, which accounts for more than three million unemployed people, and gross domestic product is forecasted to fall between 1.6% and 3% in 2009, this being the first time that Spain has entered a recession since 1993. This has obviously shocked the Spanish economy, with severe layoffs in sectors such as the construction and the automotive industries.

Nevertheless, the Spanish legal sector has to some extent been able to avoid the jaws of the global disaster. All major Spanish law firms have closed their 2008 books with positive growth figures, even though they are cautious for 2009. This is a result of two specific conditions: diversification and flexibility. In relation to diversification, Spanish law firms have traditionally acted in a wide span of practice areas. This plays in favour of the clients given that it offers them a more integral service and avoids dependence on a specific segment. Regarding flexibility, Spanish lawyers possess generalist profiles that keep them away from specialisation. This explains how mainland European law firms can reassess their human capital by shifting professionals from within a specific practice area to another. As a consequence of both conditions, the M&A and initial public offering boom of the last few years is now passing the baton on to insolvency procedures, financial and labour restructurings or debt refinancing operations, enabling firms to keep generating business and adapt to the new demand in legal services.

If uncertainty defines the current global outlook, optimisation may as well define some of the solutions. Law firms should focus their main efforts on providing their clients with more efficient legal services. At times of crisis, in which customers suffer severe setbacks, we as law firms must stand close to our clients, listening, solving and focusing on creative initiatives that will add greater value to the whole service. This, as well as the hard work, will definitely fulfil the current needs of our clients and will strengthen the relations with the leading management layers.

When it comes to human resources, it is always important to pay attention to the education and training of the lawyers. We must train our lawyers within the basis of a multidisciplinary philosophy, providing them with a wider scope of tools and skills, tending to the above-mentioned flexibility and diversification.

Not only there will be structural reforms in many sectors, including the financial and the real estate industries, but also profound changes will inevitably have to take place in the mindset of Western countries. Along the same line, law firms will be able to seize the opportunity and enforce practice areas such as pharmaceutical law, environmental law, public law or IT law. Likewise, new frontiers might be exploited in geographical areas such as Latin America (very strategic for Spanish law firms) or in developing countries such as China or India.

Interesting challenges lie ahead of us, for which we must keep in mind the big picture and focus on the long-term strategy, which will enable us to survive the downturn and meet the expectations for the better times to come.

Luis de Carlos is co-managing partner of Uria Menendez.