Firm Leaders Brian O’Donnell and Kelly Crawford Provide Comment to Law360 on 2023 Challenges for NJ Law Firms

Law360 tapped Riker Danzig Co-Chairman Brian E. O’Donnell and Co-Chair Kelly S. Crawford for its article on what is of concern to law firm leaders in 2023.  The author of the article, “What’s Keeping NJ Managing Partners Up at Night in 2023,” talked with four major New Jersey law firms about how they are navigating residual COVID-19 effects, including overwhelmed court systems and remote work policies, as well as talk of an economic downturn in 2023.

In the article, Brian spoke to the economic concerns, noting that Riker’s strong litigation practice is “relatively durable even during hard economic times.”  He also acknowledged the recent inflation in the U.S., requiring Riker to increase our rates to keep up with its effects.

Kelly addressed some of the pandemic challenges facing firms, including having attorneys back in the office and interacting face to face, “which does get lost in translation from a remote standpoint,” Kelly said.  She explained that Riker has let practice groups determine how best to split remote and in-person work for their groups, and is also “stepping up in-person conferences and large meetings.”  Kelly said that approach is “important not just for our ethos, but I think it’s important for the clients, too, because I think we provide better service to the clients in that environment.”

Kelly also commented on the backlogs in the New Jersey courts, saying that the uncertainty of trials is causing a change in the litigation dynamic.  “I think New Jersey is very challenged in terms of litigation resolution right now, because the judiciary is just tapped,” she said.  “There’s a lot more motion practice on more picayune types of issues, because nothing can get done without the pressure of things moving to trial.”

For the full article, go to Law360 (subscription required).