Several law agencies are expected to report 2020 as the most successful financial period in a year. Other organizations are struggling to live up to the basic standards because the novel coronavirus has instigated a lot of suffering. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused more than 450,000 deaths in the US, more than the sum of the soldiers who died during World War II. Apart from deaths, the virus triggered business losses to the extent of closure and unemployment to millions of people. The lockdown was the epitome of what an awful year 2020 was.
Kent Zimmermann who works at Mintz law, a group of Denver personal injury attorneys, as a consultant claims that many companies do not want to discuss how they faired in 2020 since they assume it was interfered and, therefore, less productive. The Financial Times report shows that the biggest law agency called Kirkland $ Ellis is expected to register revenues worth $5 billion, which is approximately $1 billion more than the 2019’s revenues. These details were provided by an undisclosed person who worked in the law firm.
The AmLaw data demonstrates that the equity partners at Kirkland & Ellis earned profits averaging around $5 million in 2019. This figure is expected to change positively according to the results witnessed in the controversial 2020. However, Kirkland did not comment on the column. Indeed, the law firm has refrained from addressing the financial issue publicly.
An undisclosed contemporary Kirkland partner claimed that some people are grateful and are not willing to brag about their financial results of this controversial year. The Financial Times narrative bears similar sentiments. This shows that Kirkland is not the only law firm with a positive record in 2020.
According to Wells Fargo Specialty Group, of all the 50 largest law firms in the United States, none is expected to make less than 11% profits, and these results will be soon released to the public domain. The law firms under AmLaw will release their figures, and then disclose them to the public through the media. This will expose the high-end claims that would force them to talk about their performance.
Therefore, if a certain law agency performed well, the staff and the customers will know. The 2020 results of a firm are crucial to these stakeholders, and so the management should address them keenly with tangible and real empathy. Address the clients first because if their firms suffered hardships like layoffs may begrudge the success of the company. Kent Zimmermann claims that some customers may be turned off, and would not announce that publicly, but instead act, and this would be a serious concern, any law firm should have. The clients would hang on that to delay the increment rate of a law firm.
The resentment can however be countered if the firms can pinpoint the customers’ demands and understand that they determine the decisions taken over the years. The law firms should take pride in their efforts to help companies to navigate the depressing business situations over the last decade whose epitome was 2020. Joe Mendola, the Wells Fargo managing director believes that last year’s work was marred by panic, and all the stuff will be paid off by the customers.
The lawyers have assisted organizations to tap record sums of money in debts to ensure the businesses remain afloat even if their doors were closed. Bankruptcies are overseen by lawyers and so in 2020, the relevant cases were so filed in multiples. The number of these cases had not been witnessed since 2013, according to the US Bankruptcy Institute’s data.
The workforce has been subjected to legal and health risks because of the raging coronavirus. Therefore, the lawyers had to step in to offer guidance by creating Covid-19 task forces. The firm commanders should share certain illustrations of cases whereby the customers were aided and salvaged out of a desperate situation. The clients are guaranteed that similar services will be offered anytime they call in.
The law institutions can also disseminate the interaction rate, hourly that they worked last year. This is because the legal duties demand a manual effort. Therefore, the associates are rewarded depending on the time investment they made.
Almost all Americans transformed their homes into workstations, and this triggered an increment of about 2.5 working hours daily. The legal associates feel that they deserve to work always. The staff’s concerns should also be quickly addressed by the agency because some were furloughed or others were laid off. Addressing the situation does not mean advising them how to spend the money earned unless they are comfortable being proactive.
The company can share the profits with the workforce because law firms in the US have taken the center stage to advocate for employee benefits. The political class has intervened and proposed a better minimum wage. Many organizations have raised more internal funds to support the families heavily affected by COVID-19.
