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Old 02-04-2020, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Too much over-simplification here from people going on about how legal work is "not a necessity" and easily cut when companies are not doing well.

Being a lawyer means you're providing advisory services. And in many cases, legal advice is absolutely necessary if you're planning to go ahead with virtually any major commercial transaction (see M&A, financing, restructuring) or litigation. As such, we are a protected industry that is relatively stable in a recession compared to many other professions (I am not saying everything is fine, note the "relatively"). Now, clearly the economy has slowed meaning many underlying transactions have stalled or cut entirely, and obviously you don't need legal advice if there is no deal or you don't have the money to hire a lawyer to sue, and SG doesn't allow hiring on contingency. That's the fallout in certain firms in certain departments you are observing. But this doesn't mean that legal services aren't still absolutely essential in many ways.

Certain departments in many firms are still doing well - thriving, in fact, because of the economic downturn. It's also a matter of economics. M&A has slowed locally, but you can see it's actually sped up in many parts of the US and Europe. This has to do with structural differences in the companies.

Anyone who just parrots the "the economy is doing bad so lawyers aren't needed" trope clearly lacks the intellectual nuance to be a good lawyer, but then again what was I expecting from an internet forum.

If your whole point is just about lawyers being essential in times of recession then it is valid but is just missing the points. The issue here is whether law practices, as a business, can survive a recession like this.
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