Funders, lawyers, and watchers of the litigation finance industry are seeing various indications of a growing industry. While the coronavirus pandemic will undoubtedly change the legal profession and surrounding industries, there seems to be consensus that litigation finance is fairly well inoculated against the looming economic downturn.

People working in legal occupations experience economic downturns differently than the labor market as a whole. With increased volatility in unemployment rates and significant gender gaps, the comparatively low unemployment in legal occupations may offer little comfort to those trying to maneuver the Covid-19 downturn.

While first-quarter data document the start of an M&A slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, we’re also beginning to see the outlines of some less-expected but potentially more significant changes.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s announcement of former Coinbase exec Brian Brooks’s hiring as COO, along with February actions by FinCEN and the Treasury Department as a whole, clearly signals that Treasury is preparing for major actions in 2020 on issues created by the rise of the crypto sector.

Covid-19 may be shutting down almost everything, but doors continue to open for gig drivers in their employee classification fight, due to recent events both inside and outside the courtroom.