North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Note: The following Q&As are part of a North Carolina Lawyers Weekly series in which attorneys from around the state responded to questions about the recession.
Read part 1 – Click here
Jerry Myers is the managing partner of Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers. He has practiced law for 27 years, 20 of those in the creditors’ rights field. His Raleigh law firm works on behalf of creditors and in the area of family law.
What specific practical change in your firm’s operation have you made because of the recession? We have a growing foreclosure practice and our creditors’ rights group has grown. But the firm has cut down on discretionary spending. We suspended a charity golf tournament we used to sponsor in 2009 and 2010. Our marketing and advertising ventures have been rolled out at a more deliberative pace than if things were normal.
Is that change permanent, or did you make it simply to weather the worst of the bad times? Some changes the way things are done will continue moving forward. Smith Debnam will probably continue to employ a more circumscribed approach to discretionary spending, but we are planning on holding the charity golf tournament again this year.
What specific practical advice are you giving to clients that you did not give before the recession? Not a lot. They’ve been telling me to shut up and do all this work they’re giving me.
How have you personally changed, either in your outlook or in your practice, as a result of the recession? We’ve had to place a special emphasis on making sure we’re spending dollars wisely and being as efficient as we can be with clients. We have clients sending us cases who are working with tighter budgets and who are anxious to see the job done as quickly and inexpensively as possible. So our process has been to streamline our handling of matters to seek to bring them to a conclusion more quickly.
James A. Roberts III is the managing partner of Raleigh and Charlotte-based Lewis & Roberts, which handles personal injury and mass tort claims as well as business litigation matters. Roberts, who has practiced law for nearly 30 years, said the recession has had little to no appreciable effect on his firm.
What specific practical change in your firm’s operation have you made because of the recession? We’ve been fortunate. We’ve stayed busy and have seen no real downturn in work whatsoever. Accordingly, no specific practical change in the firm’s operation has been necessary.
Is that change permanent, or did you make it simply to weather the worst of the bad times? Lots of people have been feeling the effects of the downturn, but I am optimistic that the downturn is not permanent. I think things will start to get better.
What specific practical advice are you giving to clients that you did not give before the recession? We make it clear that we are here to advise clients as needed on various legal issues they may encounter. In terms of their long-term business planning, that’s never been the place of a lawyer. We handle clients’ legal business and let them run their businesses.
How have you, personally, changed, either in your outlook or in your practice, as a result of the recession? No change at all.
Keith Vaughan is the managing partner of Winston-Salem-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. With 345 lawyers, Womble Carlyle is North Carolina’s largest law firm.
What specific practical change in your firm’s operation have you made because of the recession? We are working with clients to stay in line with client budgetary expectations.
Is that change permanent, or did you make it simply to weather the worst of the bad times? I have absolutely no question in my mind that clients are going to remain very focused on the cost of legal services and the efficiency with which services can be delivered. Consequently, law firms are going to continue to have to be concerned about costs, their own processes and what clients are expecting of them in terms of costs and increasing efficiency. The recession has accelerated developments that are here to stay.
What specific practical advice are you giving to clients that you did not give before the recession? We are talking at the front end with clients about how services might be rendered in ways that will minimize costs. We might suggest that in-house counsel undertake part of the work or given tasks, or we might deploy different levels of personnel to perform different tasks, to seek to gain efficiencies there. We’re sitting down with clients and looking at assignments to determine the most efficient ways to handle matters.
How have you personally changed, either in your outlook or in your practice, as a result of the recession? It’s just made everyone much more aware of the need to think about how every task can be done as efficiently as possible.
