(Editor’s note: This piece originally ran in the June 2, 2011, issue of the Briefly Legal PDX e-newsletter)

As the recession left its impressions on businesses throughout the region, it forced many of those businesses to rethink their approach to their markets and business development activities with a discipline forced upon them by unprecedented financial pressures. Certainly, the legal profession was no exception. From those circumstances, several key lessons emerged that should serve us well as the recovery continues and beyond.

The legal profession – perhaps like any profession – is largely built on trust-laden relationships, whether relationships with clients, prospects, referral sources, or key business partners. The legal profession confronted a stark reality it had previously never experienced.

Firm management could no longer assume that there would be an ever-increasing demand for legal services to fuel firm growth and profitability. In some practices, demand fell off; in a few other practices, it fell off dramatically. Focusing on expenses was important, but had inherent limitations. Draconian measures with respect to personnel often cut into the muscle of an organization, particularly one built on relationships. Success depended on increasing market share, often in markets where there was a diminished demand for services.

While the recession dealt a financial blow to the region’s businesses, it also delivered a gift to those businesses built on relationships – the gift of time. Busy professionals often lament that they lack the time to invest in building and deepening relationships with those individuals key to their continued success. For perhaps the first time in their legal careers, some individuals found themselves with time they could devote to relationship-building. Those that took advantage of that gift will most assuredly be well-served, not just during this period of economic recovery, but well into the future.

Mark Long is a managing partner at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt

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