A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic caused once-in-a-lifetime expense reductions that could forever alter the business of law. After those cost savings fueled double-digit profit growth for many firms in 2020, don’t be surprised if Big Law leaders try to make some of those gains stick.

Rising expenses are likely in 2021, especially as vaccine availability increases “and life returns to some version of normal,” Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group concluded in a report last month.