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PREPAID AND PREPARED - Big Law came out of 2020 with plenty of cash and an optimistic attitude toward 2021. But those firms also learned a valuable lesson last year: even the best laid plans can blow up in an instant. So, with that in mind, several firms opted to prepay this year’s expenses and cut down on lingering uncertainty posed by COVID-19, Law.com’s Andrew Maloney reports. Several firm leaders noted to Maloney that once they were sure they’d be in the black after a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, they wanted to get a jump start on reducing the risk associated with this year’s many unknowns. With so much up in the air, including the future of remote work and the vaccine rollout, many firms realized they couldn’t take 2020′s big gains for granted. “2020 was a successful year for us,” said Cameron Garrison, the managing partner of Lathrop GPM. “And so you look to see how you can leverage that success and position yourself for future years as well.”