Cooley rolled into 2020 in an enviable position. Revenue had increased in 2019 by nearly double digits, capping a decade of yearly growth and setting the firm up for another strong year.

Now, five months into the year, the firm has been forced to reevaluate its expectations in a world scarred by the arrival of the coronavirus. But even as he predicts demand will tumble, CEO and chairman Joe Conroy has no plans to reduce compensation or cut personnel. Instead, belt-tightening is taking place almost effortlessly, as a large budget for travel and meetings sits untouched.

The New York-based leader believes the firm's focus on representing tech and life-sciences businesses—companies that are going to create the "new normal," regardless of what it looks like—places it on solid footing to weather the storm and prosper in its aftermath. Conroy spoke to ALM about what lessons the firm has taken since the pandemic began to upend the business of law in the U.S. and abroad.