For the legal industry overall, a K-shaped recovery sounds like a boon. The parallel upward trajectories of both cyclical and countercyclical work will provide larger, full-service firms with a wealth of opportunity. Growth prospects are higher even than in recent years. An active transactional market, an onslaught of backlogged litigation, a spate of new employment issues and a surge in bankruptcy filings will spur demand. Plus, a new political regime, likely to include renewed interest in infrastructure and clean energy and sweeping changes in tax, regulation and environmental, will further spark market expansion.

Against this backdrop it is difficult to see the downside. However, as at least a handful of firms already know, not every firm is positioned to take advantage of this potential upsurge. How firms responded to the dynamic changes of 2020 and how effectively and proactively they approach 2021 will determine whether they come out ahead. Successful firms will have made— and will continue to make—their mantra to be deliberate and intentional. In the face of sweeping changes and remote work, no other strategy will yield optimal results.