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.