Clio COVID-19 Report Briefing
COVID has forever changed how people everywhere work and live, and the legal industry is not immune to these changes. Read this blog post to find out how lawyers are adapting to COVID-19 from a recent Clio survey.
  • COVID-19
  • Clio
Meredith Boe
Published on Oct 01, 2020

 

The recent legal trends report from Clio focuses on COVID-19 and all its impacts on the legal world. It’s important to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the legal industry, which always is changing in the midst of the pandemic.

 

Here are some highlights about how COVID-19 is affecting the legal industry, and why it matters.

 

What’s included in the report?

Clio’s latest COVID-19 Impact Research Briefings include information gathered from legal professionals as well as survey data collected between April 3 and June 22, 2020. The reports track details like casework changes because of the pandemic, how law firms are operating or recovering, and trends in states and certain practice areas.

 

NextChapter’s favorite findings from the new Clio report

Here are some of the key highlights on COVID-19 legal trends from the briefing:

  • More consumers are anticipating legal issues related to the coronavirus (21%)
  • Traffic, criminal, and personal injury cases have decreased more than other law areas
  • Law firms saw a steady increase in billings in June and another decline in casework at the beginning of July
  • Compared to 2019, May 2020 saw 23% less in law firm billings, and 13% less in June 2020
  • In June, 28% of law firms say they lost revenue because clients were unable to pay their fees
  • Over half (58%) of legal professionals claim that technology has helped them manage their work-life balance during the pandemic
  • 68% say that technology allows them to deliver better customer experiences during COVID-19
  • 22% of law firms report starting to hire new or furloughed staff again in June

 

Why stay informed?

One reason to stay aware of these stats from Clio is that they apply to all practice areas. So no matter what area of the law you focus on, you’re probably impacted. Staying informed also helps you prepare for the future. The Clio report showed that 68% of law firms are now “more prepared to handle future waves of coronavirus” should they arise.

 

It’s also important to stay aware of client behavior. At the beginning of the pandemic, many clients said they would put off dealing with their legal problems because of the virus (49%). However, this number decreased in mid-June, with 60% of consumers saying they would hire legal help.

 

Additionally, around half of consumers (49%) report that they struggle to afford the legal services they need as of June. But as fears about the economic impacts of the pandemic start to ease, consumers are less worried about being able to make a living.

 

This information helps you assess how well your law firm is doing compared with external factors that impact business.

 

Read the latest COVID-19 Impact Research Briefing from Clio here!