When Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae decided in 2007 to join forces to become Dewey & LeBoeuf, mortgage backed securities were still the rage, business was booming and few appreciated the intensity of the storm on the horizon.  A mere one year later however, Dewey & LeBoeuf as well as every other major law firm had seen virtually all of its structured finance work disappear and some of those firms were soon to be history. 

To be clear, 2011 was marked by stability in the world of BigLaw only in a relative sense, 2009 being characterized as perhaps the most tumultuous year in the history of major law firms and 2010 by paralyzing risk aversion and the refrain "flat is the new up."  Lateral hiring of associates and other service oriented attorneys picked up a trickle as the strongest of our major players sought to regain some of the bench strength they had let go in the aftermath of the 2008 Wall Street collapse, the leading pack ever thinning.  Trimming and efficiency remained priorities as corporate clients continued to enjoy growing leverage over their law firm advisors, and law firm mergers and acquisitions were abundant as more players found themselves struggling merely to stay afloat while those not fortunate enough to accurately gauge the dangers around them or find healthier players on whom to link were swallowed up by the relentless waters around them.

Thankfully, the tsunami that claimed so many BigLaw casualties in 2009 and 2010 is increasingly a distant memory as the waters of 2011 have remained relatively tranquil.  We are certainly not only leaner and more efficient but also more circumspect as we venture further into the heart of 2011, major American and British firms focusing more of their attention outward and exploring opportunities especially in the emerging foreign markets of the so-called BRIC countries - namely Brazil, Russia, India and China.  Francis B. Burch, Jr., global chairman of DLA Piper explained: "If you look at where the large multinationals and the most attractive emerging technology companies are generating their revenue and their net income and where they expect to see the most growth, it's in the BRIC countries."

Our long held view that BigLaw is among the most conservatively run and change resistant industries on the planet seems understated in light of the tornedos that we've been experiencing of late.  That said, 2010 served to raise awareness of issues critical to our long term viability such as globalization, diversification of practices as well as personnel, alternative billing and work-life balance and it appears that by and large, while still far from healthy, BigLaw is a better place to live and work as we enter 2011 than it was a year ago.  

Listen carefully and you will hear BigLaw breathing a collective sigh of relief as we continue to distance ourselves from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the ensuing havoc that characterized the legal market of 2009.  

While "tepid stability amidst continuing uncertainty" may best define the state of the legal market during the second quarter of 2010, stability of any sort has come as welcome relief from the historic tumult that characterized the brutal legal market of 2009.  

With 2009 -- the most tumltuous year in the history of major law firms since the Great Depression -- now a full quarter behind us, we are poised to assess the extent to which the myriad changes then implemented in the universe of BigLaw seem to have taken root, and prognosticate a bit as to what we are likely to see in the three quarters to come. 

It would hardly be an overstatement to say that the 2008 debacle of Wall Street hit the world of BigLaw like a tsunami.  In October of that year, Thelen's management -- which was already on its last legs after its ill-fated acquisition of Brown Raysman only one year earlier -- began parcelling out entire sections of their firm.  At the same time Heller Ehrman, whose partners had voted to dissolve on September 26, was closing its cafeterias and starting to remove coffee machines from its numerous offices nationwide.  Like falling dominoes, one firm after another began throwing as much baggage overboard as possible in seeming desperation.  By the end of the month, Katten had laid off 21 attorneys, Sonnenschein 24 and Clifford Chance 20.  Even firm captains were jumping ship.  Thacher Proffitt's Vice Chairman lateralled to Greenberg Traurig and Thelen's Chairman was reported to be in talks to join Howrey.  Firms across the board were scaling back and in some cases eliminating their summer programs outright, forcing law students everywhere to consider debt forgiveness programs and alternative careers even before graduation.   

As the US Army engages in introspection with respect to its internal oversight in the wake of the Fort Hood massacre and the SEC does the same after the Madoff disaster, the government is clearly announcing that it will require no less of private sector supervisors than it will of itself.  In a recent example, the SEC is compelling the former general counsel and CEO of San Francisco investment bank Merriman Curhan Ford to pay for its failure to properly supervise David "Scott" Cacchione, who pleaded guilty to fraud in March for emailing customer accounts to William "Boots" Del Biaggio III in connection with a scheme to scam banks out of $50 million worth of loans:  "When you find major frauds at a broker dealer like this, you're going to naturally look at 'Where is the supervision?'" said Michael Dicke, the enforcement director of the San Francisco office.

By and large, BigLaw should be proud of the way it has reacted to the near collapse of our financial system as we appear to be teeter tottering away from the brink at least for the time being.  To be sure, while we are at long last witnessing deals trickle back in and real transactions that require our servicing, bankruptcy and restructuring practices remain our life preservers.  But once sacrosanct principles like no publicly disclosed layoffs have been left behind in the rubble along with associate salary and bonus wars.  Also, alternative fee arrangements to the billable hour are becoming commonplace;  skepticism of our financial sector clients and avoidance of the toxicity that has come to define it appears enhanced;  partner level lateral market due diligence is virtually destigmatized;  and practice area as well as personnel diversity and work-life balance and more humane work environments for all our attorneys and staff have emerged as the new holy grails.  In short, our major law firms are now leaner, meaner, healthier and more competitive.