Growing Business Through a Pandemic

Businesses, like people, must adapt to changing times to survive. The pandemic forced every business, ours included, to take inventory of its resources, redirect energies, and chart a new path forward.  For those of us fortunate enough to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the time to thrive.

My law partner and I started Sanders Roberts LLP (SR) over a decade ago during an economic recession. While many  law firms did not survive that recession, we thrived by becoming students of change who were thrust upon the challenging legal world by the greater economy. Small and nimble, we found a way to adapt and press forward through adversity to ultimately become the largest Black owned law firm in the Western United States. In the process, we learned a few key lessons every business should know.

PEOPLE CAPITAL
People are the greatest resource of every business. At SR, we strive to hire good people who are also good lawyers. We can train good people how to be better lawyers; the reverse proves much more difficult if not impossible.  When you work with good people, you are better positioned to find ways to navigate through challenges in business, even those of pandemic proportions. And when good people invest their life energy into building a business, amazing things happen.

SR’s team members invest in our mission to not only provide excellent work to our clients, but also to build a generational law firm that will be in existence for centuries to come. Our entire team is wedded to the idea of creating something bigger than any one case. Our collective desire to find a way, even through adversity, to ensure that our business is resilient and stands the test of time may not be the sole, but certainly is the ultimate objective.

The efforts of the SR team is why the firm and its attorneys have received numerous accolades, such as being selected as a Top Boutique (law firm) in California in 2016 and 2020 by the Daily Journal, being identified as Leaders of Influence: Litigation & Trial Lawyers by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and in my case, being acknowledged as a Top Labor & Employment Lawyer in 2021 by the Daily Journal.

ADAPTATION 
When the world changes, your business must adapt to stay relevant. For instance, many years ago technology changed the legal landscape, and SR lawyers began trying cases in front of juries using iPads instead of paper binders. At first, people chuckled. But when we continued to win trials, others  realized that jurors take information through mobile phones every day and were comfortable with and even wanted to receive our trial presentations in a similar way. Our willingness to adapt to changes in technology provided a strategic advantage that brought tremendous success to our clients and our firm.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced change upon all of us. We are now faced with opportunities to reevaluate our decades-long business models.  That evaluation will surely reveal many things that can help you grow and become stronger.  Remote working options might expand the people talent available to your business because now we know that every employee does not need to report to a specific space every day to contribute. Streamline overhead. Adapt, but do not compromise your culture or your quality and you can emerge more profitable than ever.

PRESS FORWARD
After a period of fiscal conservatism, SR pressed forward with our vision for the firm, and we are now expanding our team and our geographic reach. Our clients still need legal services, and we made sure we provided the same quality of service through all of the adversity. That strengthened relationships and trust with our clients.

The pandemic did not kill the idea so do not let it dim the fire to survive and thrive.  Press forward with the dream and the goals set for your business.  Consult legal counsel, apply the knowledge to the new landscape and rely on your vision, people capital and ability to adapt to lead you into 2022 with a renewed optimism. You and your business are here for a reason so go get it!

Reginald Roberts, Jr., is co-managing and co-founding partner of Sanders Roberts LLP. Learn more at sandersroberts.com.

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