The Complete Lawyer

Political Changes Are On The Horizon

As the U.S. readies for new leadership, visionary law firms will be positioned to leverage emerging opportunities. Financial, M&A and Securities work will undergo significant changes. A new political regime will also lead the way for numerous Regulatory modifications.

Savvy law firms that help define the changes will have access to the most plum work—while others will not benefit:

Prepare your clients with scenario planning

• What are the business implications of the new political party?

• How do anticipated changes impact their business operations?

Engage in prep work

• Begin assessing priorities

• Educate clients on key issues to consider today, tomorrow and in January

• Create a checklist of top risks

• Issue periodic updates on the likelihood of certain regulations

A Few Bright Spots Promise Opportunity

Not all hope should be lost amid the tightening market conditions. The emerging winners for growth prospects in 2009 are Regulatory and Litigation, which top the list of under-recognized risks facing clients.

Plan for a surge in counseling and advisory work as clients seek ways to navigate through an evolving business environment. But don’t expect the work to come to you. Be proactive. Opportunities will go to the law firms that seek them out—the phones are no longer ringing. Act as a trusted advisor to clients on routine matters and work they bring in-house to establish your firm as the top-of-mind choice when more complex (and premium rate) work emerges.

The Bailout Bill Offers Law Firms A Life Raft

BTI research shows the bailout bill creating up to $5.2 billion in new legal fees. This spending will go to a wide swath of law firms extending well beyond Wall Street. Expect between $700 million and $1 billion in new fees to kick in through 2009.

Target the 8 practice areas that will make up the bulk of work created by the bill:

• Litigation

• M&A

• Regulatory

• Finance

• Corporate

• Employment

• Investigations

• Bankruptcy

RESOURCES

You can find these and other key trends for 2009 in BTI’s Premium Practices Forecast 2009: The Survey of Corporate Legal Spending available now at BTI Consulting.