After the Storm: Resilience in the Face of Difficulty

I originally intended to write this column (and the next one) on the topic of professional transitions. That all changed on September 26, 2024. On the evening of September 24, after rain had been pouring down for several days in my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, the local weather station predicted that our area might receive several additional days of rain, and extreme wind, due to a hurricane expected to pass through the area. On the morning of September 25, not wanting to miss a weekend Wake Forest football game, my wife and I decided to leave Asheville a day early and headed down the mountain to our small townhome in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Little did we know that the interstate down the mountain we descended would be closed to all traffic for five days due to mudslides. We also did not expect to spend most of the next three weeks in Winston-Salem, traveling to Asheville when passable to bring supplies of food and water to those in need. It would be from that location, and these trips home to Asheville, that I would both observe, and learn about, the importance of resilience in times of trouble. 

The Display of Resilience: Rendering Aid to Those in Need

My law firm has more than 40 members, including licensed attorneys and professional staff. Interestingly, members of the firm experienced differing levels of impact from the storm. Some had very little damage to their homes, some had partial damage and one member experienced total destruction. Because our county is serviced by three different water sources, some experienced no water flow for over a month, others experienced no loss of water flow, while everyone other than those with private wells experienced seven weeks of not having drinkable water through their faucets. All experienced some internet/cell service and power outages (for at least a week to 10 days, some longer).

Many members sought out ways to render service to existing clients. Even with our offices closed for quite some time, and internet service mostly unavailable, volunteer efforts not only supported existing clients, but also the community at large, through such activities as volunteering to provide organized volunteer legal services (through the ABA and its partners), volunteering to provide legal services and help in those needing to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (such as for the employees of clients who had lost their homes) and by having a well-thought-out plan to render voluntary service in the areas of our expertise to our business clients in the time of need. My discovery through these difficult days was that the more resilient a member of the firm, the more likely it was that the member would step out of their practice comfort zone to help others (even if that meant rendering legal service in areas of inexperience).

Leading with Resilience: Supporting the Team as They Support Others 

Like what was experienced immediately after COVID, I again observed that organizations without excellent leadership are more likely to either bail on their team members, or otherwise overreact in the face of disaster. Our firm has the fortunate situation of having excellent leadership (and just to make sure you understand, I am complimenting others, as I am no longer managing the firm). Here are some of the takeaways I was reminded of by observing their actions.

First, our managing partner took prudent action to protect the firm, while also taking full advantage of the crisis we were experiencing to support, and reinforce, firm mission and vision. Considering the values we have expressed and committed to, she and our firm management committee were well prepared to take action to reinforce to our members what the firm had previously expressed as its reason for being. The list of actions taken is too long set out in this short column, but some examples include: 1. establishing a GoFundMe account to help raise funds for the member of our firm who had lost her house, and 2. rounding up members of the firm who were willing and able (considering the circumstances) to render to the needy in our local geographic area disaster legal services, exemplifying the firm’s stated commitment to community.

Second, our managing partner recognized the importance of overcommunication to our team members in the face of crisis. This was lived out as she and our management team took special effort (considering the fact that most were out of cell/internet service for days), such as: 1. reaching out to every member of the firm to establish whereabouts and needs, and 2. once communications had been restored, sending regular text messages and emails to assure each member was kept apprised of the status of the firm closure.

Third, though difficult to swallow, our management team was very upfront and direct with our firm members about the impact of this unexpected crisis on both long- and short-term goals and strategies. They recognized not only the importance of being flexible in times of uncertainty, but also the importance of getting all shareholders to understand that concept as well. In the short term, members were asked to hold off on unnecessary expenses while trying to gauge the extent to which demand for paid legal services and operational expenses would change due to the storm and its aftermath. At the time of this writing, the long-term is uncertain. For 2024, the firm was experiencing high profits before the storm, but the year-end became quite uncertain. Though the long-term effects on our community are extreme, the demand for legal services seems to have shot out of the roof. With such an uncertain future due to an unexpected disaster, understanding the importance of flexibility, and committing yourself to not being too rigid about prior planning, is crucial.

Practice Innovation: Resilience During Unexpected Circumstances

The best lesson I observed of resilience in practice after the storm was exemplified by one of my clients. Even though not a lawyer, there were certainly lessons to be learned for those in the practice of law.

This storm was truly devastating for all our hospitality clients. Even when the lights came back on, most did not have running water. When the water finally came back on, it was not potable until seven weeks after the storm had passed. Most restaurants and hotels, even though physically undamaged, had no choice but to close until the bacteria cleared.

One of my most innovative restauranteur clients was fortunate to obtain, at one of his locations, electricity and non-potable running water soon after the storm. To keep his valuable employees employed, he quickly negotiated a deal to provide hundreds of meals a day to a Florida-based provider of relief worker food, while at the same time arranging for potable water at the restaurant facility to accomplish the job. Then, two weeks after the storm, when it was predicted that potable water would not be flowing through faucets for five more weeks, the same restaurant client collaborated with seven other restaurant clients to share the expense of a daily water tanker, and a potable water supply source, such that all of those in the group could open their respective local restaurants, instead of continuing to be closed and laying off workers as a consequence.

Among the many lessons I learned from this client, there was one that seemed to apply to lawyers and law firms: Be prepared for the unexpected. For law firms, that means that the unexpected must be expected when it comes to budgeting. So many firms come close to cashing out every year (because they feel they must due to taxation). For a firm that wants to effectively plan for the future, financial difficulties need to be budgeted for in some manner. It is remarkable how many smaller firms say that their firm is a great place to work, but then lay off all their staff when difficulty arises resulting in decreased demand for a few weeks or months. For practicing lawyers, even if generally limited to one practice area, resilience is a willingness and ability to innovate within a practice area if the economy changes and the type of demand for legal services does not necessarily diminish, but instead substantively changes.

Looking back, it seemed to me that, just like during COVID, people handle difficulties with varying levels of personal resilience. Even so, what I concluded was that lawyers, and law firm leaders, can do much to prepare for difficult times. Even though it may be impossible to know exactly how one might personally handle tragedy, personal and organizational preparation for a crisis is more likely to lead to some positive level of resilience to the benefit of not only the individual and the organization, but also clients and the greater community.