Lessons in resilience for IP law firms: Learning to thrive in uncertainty

Like nearly all sectors of the world economy, intellectual property law firms have faced upheaval in the midst of the pandemic. Clarivate sat down with industry veterans Kevin Paul, former Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman LLP; and Albert Woo, Chief Operating Officer of Lewis Roca, to discuss their experiences of rethinking business during times of uncertainty, important lessons that we can learn from past periods of instability and the implications for the health of IP firms into the future.

According to Clarivate research, almost half of surveyed senior decision makers said COVID-19 disrupted their innovation strategy. IP law proceedings faced a spate of cancellations, reschedulings and ad hoc practice changes, and firms transitioned into fully or almost fully remote frameworks for their operations.

“Many organizations can now look back on the disruption from firmer footing, but the past months nonetheless beg the question about what’s coming next.”

The responses of lead partners at IP law firms have varied. While some reduced staff or cut pay in the immediate wake of the crisis, others instead pivoted – leveraging the flexibility of their personnel to take on new service areas, or outsourcing some services rather than eliminating them.

Many organizations can now look back on the disruption from firmer footing, but the past months nonetheless beg the question about what’s coming next. The necessity of navigating unpredictable, resource-constrained and disruptive environments very well may become the new normal, requiring new best practices to be established if firms are to survive and thrive in the long term. As the past year has shown us, IP law firms must be prepared for any eventuality, be it an acute crisis or a gradual shift.

Lessons from the past to illuminate the future

We may be able to find valuable perspective in examining lessons learned from perhaps the most recent time that uncertainty seemed to upend the world around us: the global financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008.

Clarivate sat down with industry veterans Kevin Paul, former Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman LLP; and Albert Woo, Chief Operating Officer of Lewis Roca, to discuss their experiences in rethinking business during uncertainty, important parallels between then and now, the implications for the health of IP firms into the future.

Interested in the full interview? Read more here.