The situations are very different, but the approaches are much the same: follow official advice and manage carefully.

In Italy, where the government on Monday suddenly placed the entire country under travel restrictions in hopes of stemming the rapid spread of COVID-19, major law firms say they are coping by encouraging staff to work from home and restricting meetings and movements—but that they were still very much open for business.

"I would say that less than 40% of our people are in the office right now, but we are open," Giuseppe Pirola, president of Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati, told Law.com International on Tuesday by telephone from Milan.

Studio Pirola is the fifth-largest law firm in Italy by revenue, according to Statista, with 14 offices worldwide, including 10 offices in Italy. Other major Italian firms, including Bonelli Erede Lombardi Pappalardo and Chiomenti, told Law.com International that they were following similar procedures.

Massimo Di Terlizzi, a managing partner at Studio Pirola, added that while staff had the technical means to work from home, the firm intended to keep offices open during the lockdown because "we have clients who need to be able to meet with us, and we need to be there for them."

The firm has created a task force on the new coronavirus to advise clients and keep up with evolving recommendations from the government and health authorities.

"Our advice to clients is to follow the government's decrees," Pirola said. "That means taking precautions, but it doesn't mean not working. The travel restrictions do not apply to commuting for work."

Law firms in France, already in full coronavirus prevention mode for at least the past two weeks, are also watching and waiting for the government announcement of the next phase of the health crisis, which will bring travel restrictions similar to Italy's. President Emmanuel Macron warned March 6 that the next phase, Stage 3, is "all but inevitable."

France's blueprint for action is a comprehensive flu pandemic plan produced by the government for the 2006-2007 avian flu crisis and updated in 2009 for swine flu. Written in plain language and publicly circulated via the government's website, the plan specifies how businesses, individuals, public offices and the health care sector should prepare and respond as the number of cases and fatalities rises.

Lawyers in Paris told Law.com International that the past several weeks have given them the opportunity to adjust gradually to new work habits—less travel, fewer meetings, more remote working—before the next level of restrictions kick in.

French government decrees to increase sick-pay benefits to quarantined workers and remove caps on overtime pay to health care workers are helping ease anxiety among employers and employees alike, labor lawyers said.

Lawyers in Italy said that a key factor in deciding how to manage their business going forward was whether and when Italy will broaden financial support for businesses. The government has already announced €4 billion in support for critically affected sectors such as tourism and logistics, and more aid, including tax relief, is expected to follow as the crisis goes on.

"Until now, there has been nothing offered" to the professional services sector, Pirola said. "And obviously, we are going to have to revise our financial projections for the year—perhaps more than once."