Here we go again ... another war in which there is no consensus of the American people, let alone a strong contingent of world opinion – from the Middle East to Asia and Europe, among others. Hang on! You ain't seen nothin' yet!
Whatever one’s view of the correctness of military action now, my question is what impact will this war have on your practice? As in every war to date, there have been significant psychological as well as economic consequences for the participants. While 2002 was a recovery year (recovering from the shock of 9-11), and many law firms reached new economic heights, the mandate for continuity is not assured when there is a major event on the horizon.
Please share with me some of the consequences you may see for your practice and for the profession as a whole:
What steps are you taking to minimize the downturn of business? What steps are you taking to address the added need for security for yourself, your colleagues and staff, as well as your own family?
I just returned from a meeting of my Managing Partners Roundtable, a group of some of the largest law firms in the country. If I interpret the sense of the group correctly, I come away with the following conclusions:
People do not handle uncertainty well. Almost any decision is better than no decision. War is better than not knowing if we are going to declare war. And, if one looks at the stock market, this seems to be the case with the increase in the value of the public equity market’s values.
We seem to be able to adjust to any circumstance except uncertainty.
Purchasing and other such decisions may be delayed. But, strategic plans will not be modified because no one expects that the country’s strategic plan has been or will need to be modified.
Additional security measures will be needed, but many have already created disaster (business continuity) plans since 9-11-01. In fact, the template which I developed for business continuity with a group of large firm executive directors is the template some are now implementing for this time and circumstance.
How will your practice be impacted? If you have an immigration practice, you may have some difficulties. On the other hand, if many Americans leave their jobs to focus there energies on the war effort, there may be limited sources for replacement hires, requiring employers to seek replacements from other countries, thereby increasing the need for immigrants ... and therefore immigration lawyers. Will transactional lawyers face an increasing number corporate and other delays? Or will people hurry to finish projects and tasks in order to "put their house in order" pending the outcome of the military action ... and then wait to determine the economic impact before beginning new projects?
Please send me your thoughts and comments about what you will be doing to protect and enhance your law practice ...
