Joe Conroy is no stranger to leading in turbulent times. He took the reins as Cooley’s CEO in 2008, in the midst of a global financial crisis. At the time he tried to convince his partners they could build one of “the great law firms of the next generation,” he says.

Nearly 14 years later, as Conroy leads the firm through yet another global crisis—with record financial success in the process—it would be hard to argue he was wrong.