The pandemic of COVID-19 has brought global economic activity to a virtual standstill. Even the legal services sector, normally considered a saviour during market recessions, has not been spared. 

Due to lockdowns in most countries, dispute resolution practitioners and law firms are seeing their work suffer. Even the transactional and M&A lawyers are taking a hit since there is a negligible economic activity and business houses are keeping their adventures on hold.

Working from home (WFH) has become the new normal and seeing the rate of transmission of COVID-19, WFH is here to stay. The modus operandi of various service providers including legal professionals would require an overhaul. Moving forward, new means of operating, such as online hearings, intra-city teleconferencing and closure of deals over the web will have to be embraced. Since revenues have tumbled and unlikely to revive anytime soon, WFH would help the legal profession to not only be efficient with their deliverables but also with their overheads as firms would look to reduce fixed operating costs. More importantly, the legal profession should play its part in containing the spread of this disease and WFH is a means to achieve that objective.