After slashing overhead costs associated with travel and in-person events last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, law firms dramatically increased spending on marketing and business development in the first half of 2021. But legal industry observers say it’s still significantly below pre-pandemic levels.

It’s not clear when allocations to marketing and business development will catch up with pre-pandemic spending, with lingering uncertainty about the feasibility of in-person events and travel. In their place, firms are shifting their investments to developing an online brand strategy to capitalize on the booming demand for legal services.