A pandemic. A large-scale economic downturn. Extreme volatility in the markets. The world looks much different from just a few short months ago.
As we enter the second half of the year, businesses will shift focus from emergency response to short- and long-term planning in the face of deep economic uncertainty. The issues confronting in-house counsel and their outside advisers multifaceted, complex, and in some cases, unprecedented.
Our legal analysts have done a mid-year re-forecast of some of the topics and themes we previewed as part of our Bloomberg Law 2020 series last year—this time, from amid upheaval. Covering four broad areas of concern, our analysts provide their expert perspectives on the Global Impact of the recession, as well as changes to Business & Industry, Legal Markets, and the Transactional landscape.
The Global Impact of the economic downturn has already extended beyond any previous analogue. The challenges facing corporations are wide in scope and deep in complexity, and companies will be called on to effectively balance the interests of shareholders, employees, consumers, and the communities in which they operate. Our analysts take a comprehensive look at some of the macro issues companies will face in the coming months, including challenges around human capital, anti-money laundering compliance, the importance of a robust privacy framework, and parallels that can be drawn to the climate crisis.
Business & Industry will address the downstream economic effects of the pandemic for months—even years—to come. The recession will force companies to examine their corporate governance practices, anticipate new types of litigation, and stay ahead of potential enforcement matters. Our analysts take an in-depth look.
How will Legal Markets react to the downturn? What does the future of attorney employment look like across the legal ecosystem? Will the economic decline be the impetus for lasting change at law firms? Will litigation finance play an outsized role in the recovery? These are just a few of the questions our analysts explore as they dive into the longer-term impacts on the legal market.
The Transactional market has already given us data to study. With deal terminations on the rise in an extremely volatile market companies and deal attorneys are in uncharted territory. Our analysts take a detailed look at the impact on everything from commercial contracts and M&A to private equity and finance.
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