AI isn\u2019t the only culprit. During COVID, brick-and-mortar firms vanished almost overnight as clients stopped coming through the doors and courts shut down temporarily. Some firms stayed the course and work bounced back but other firms shut their doors.<\/p>\n
Trends change too \u2014 something I know firsthand. Fifteen years ago, I was one of the only lawyers in the country representing landowners and communities fighting interstate gas pipelines. Work poured in effortlessly\u2026 until I started winning and setting new precedent. Once my victories proved these cases could succeed, the environmental groups that had once turned away my clients jumped into the fray with deep pockets and donor funding. They began taking the same types of cases for free \u2014 and even though I\u2019m good, I can\u2019t compete with free. The niche I had built from scratch was suddenly gone.<\/p>\n
So, what do you do when that happens? When the phone stops ringing, the email inbox goes quiet, and you\u2019re left staring at a calendar with nothing on it? Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned \u2014 and what I would do again if I had to start over.<\/p>\n
1. Don\u2019t Be Bitter<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing less attractive than lawyers blaming AI for lost business \u2014 for example, whining about clients who rely on cheap AI solutions without acknowledging that high legal fees drove those clients to use AI in the first place. Likewise, while I\u2019d love to blame the environmental groups for stealing my business, the truth is, I took my eyes off the steering wheel. Having been recently widowed, my sole focus was getting my daughters through college debt-free, so I tried to squeeze every penny out of my pipeline work instead of diversifying my income stream.\u00a0 That\u2019s on me, not my competitors.<\/p>\n 2. Take Stock of What You Have Left<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if your client base disappears, your talent doesn\u2019t. You still have expertise, systems, content, relationships, and reputation.\u00a0 To bridge a cashflow gap, reach out to colleagues and offer your services on a per diem<\/em> basis and let them know you\u2019re open for referrals and work opportunities. My own outreach yielded several contracts, including an ongoing stint as a hearing examiner.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t find work from other sources, you could make your own by pulling together an online course or training<\/a> to sell to businesses or other lawyers.<\/p>\n 3. Pivot to a Need \u2014 Not Just an Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n When business dries up, it\u2019s tempting to chase what feels exciting or novel. But successful reinvention comes from finding unmet demand. Talk to colleagues. Read Reddit threads. Scan LinkedIn posts. Listen to what clients and lawyers are worrying about.<\/p>\n For lawyers displaced or concerned about displacement by AI, reinvention may look like exploring new business models like flat fees or subscriptions or providing hybrid services that leverage AI more heavily for efficiencies but keep humans in the loop. Or maybe it means shifting to another practice area entirely. In my own case, I\u2019ve used the void to move towards building an AI-forward law firm focused on appeals and estate planning and helping lawyers use AI and technology to future-proof their practices.<\/p>\n What\u2019s most important is experimentation. Stop polling other lawyers for advice and get busy doing. Move from saying it won\u2019t work to it didn\u2019t<\/a> (or even better, it did!). Some experiments will flop, but one success can relaunch your entire trajectory.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Don\u2019t Wait for the Market to Come Back \u2014 Create the Next One<\/strong><\/p>\n Markets evolve. The lawyers who thrive aren\u2019t those who cling to what was, but who define what\u2019s next. That might mean becoming the go-to lawyer for AI ethics, fractional general counsel services, or digital estate planning. The next practice area is always born from pain points of the moment or curiosity about solving a new problem.<\/p>\n 5. You Did It Before and Can Do It Again<\/strong><\/p>\n When your practice dries up, it\u2019s hard not to feel like a failure. But here\u2019s the thing that\u2019s true for every law firm owner: You\u2019ve built something from nothing once before.<\/a> You figured out how to\u00a0 attract clients, make money, and turn uncertainty into opportunity. Those skills don\u2019t disappear<\/p>\n So, when the bottom drops out, don\u2019t just brace for the fall. Use it as a pivot point. Shed the parts of your practice that no longer serve you or your clients and build what comes next on your own terms. Because in the end, survival isn\u2019t what defines law firm owners \u2014 reinvention does. If you\u2019ve done it once, you can absolutely do it again.<\/p>\n Just like me.<\/p>\n Carolyn Elefant is one of the country\u2019s most recognized advocates for solo and small firm lawyers. She founded MyShingle.com in 2002, the longest-running blog for solo practitioners, where she has published thousands of articles, resources, and guides on starting, running, and growing independent law practices. She is the author of Solo by Choice, widely regarded as the definitive handbook for launching and sustaining a law practice, and has spoken at countless bar events and legal conferences on technology, innovation, and regulatory reform that impacts solos and smalls. Elefant also develops practical tools like the\u00a0AI Teach-In<\/a>\u00a0to help small firms adopt AI and she consistently champions reforms to level the playing field for independent lawyers. Alongside this work, she runs the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant, a national energy and regulatory practice that handles selective complex, high-stakes matters.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post When The Bottom Drops Out: What To Do When Your Practice Dries Up<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n What would you do if your law practice suddenly lost all of its clients and you had to start over from scratch?<\/p>\n That may sound like a dramatic hypothetical \u2014 until you look around. My friend Nicole Black recently wrote about AI-driven layoffs <\/a>sweeping through tech giants like Amazon and Meta, asking whether lawyers might be next. Between automation, consolidation, and shifting client expectations, many law practices are vulnerable to disruption.<\/p>\n AI isn\u2019t the only culprit. During COVID, brick-and-mortar firms vanished almost overnight as clients stopped coming through the doors and courts shut down temporarily. Some firms stayed the course and work bounced back but other firms shut their doors.<\/p>\n Trends change too \u2014 something I know firsthand. Fifteen years ago, I was one of the only lawyers in the country representing landowners and communities fighting interstate gas pipelines. Work poured in effortlessly\u2026 until I started winning and setting new precedent. Once my victories proved these cases could succeed, the environmental groups that had once turned away my clients jumped into the fray with deep pockets and donor funding. They began taking the same types of cases for free \u2014 and even though I\u2019m good, I can\u2019t compete with free. The niche I had built from scratch was suddenly gone.<\/p>\n So, what do you do when that happens? When the phone stops ringing, the email inbox goes quiet, and you\u2019re left staring at a calendar with nothing on it? Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned \u2014 and what I would do again if I had to start over.<\/p>\n 1. Don\u2019t Be Bitter<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing less attractive than lawyers blaming AI for lost business \u2014 for example, whining about clients who rely on cheap AI solutions without acknowledging that high legal fees drove those clients to use AI in the first place. Likewise, while I\u2019d love to blame the environmental groups for stealing my business, the truth is, I took my eyes off the steering wheel. Having been recently widowed, my sole focus was getting my daughters through college debt-free, so I tried to squeeze every penny out of my pipeline work instead of diversifying my income stream.\u00a0 That\u2019s on me, not my competitors.<\/p>\n 2. Take Stock of What You Have Left<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if your client base disappears, your talent doesn\u2019t. You still have expertise, systems, content, relationships, and reputation.\u00a0 To bridge a cashflow gap, reach out to colleagues and offer your services on a per diem<\/em> basis and let them know you\u2019re open for referrals and work opportunities. My own outreach yielded several contracts, including an ongoing stint as a hearing examiner.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t find work from other sources, you could make your own by pulling together an online course or training<\/a> to sell to businesses or other lawyers.<\/p>\n 3. Pivot to a Need \u2014 Not Just an Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n When business dries up, it\u2019s tempting to chase what feels exciting or novel. But successful reinvention comes from finding unmet demand. Talk to colleagues. Read Reddit threads. Scan LinkedIn posts. Listen to what clients and lawyers are worrying about.<\/p>\n For lawyers displaced or concerned about displacement by AI, reinvention may look like exploring new business models like flat fees or subscriptions or providing hybrid services that leverage AI more heavily for efficiencies but keep humans in the loop. Or maybe it means shifting to another practice area entirely. In my own case, I\u2019ve used the void to move towards building an AI-forward law firm focused on appeals and estate planning and helping lawyers use AI and technology to future-proof their practices.<\/p>\n What\u2019s most important is experimentation. Stop polling other lawyers for advice and get busy doing. Move from saying it won\u2019t work to it didn\u2019t<\/a> (or even better, it did!). Some experiments will flop, but one success can relaunch your entire trajectory.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Don\u2019t Wait for the Market to Come Back \u2014 Create the Next One<\/strong><\/p>\n Markets evolve. The lawyers who thrive aren\u2019t those who cling to what was, but who define what\u2019s next. That might mean becoming the go-to lawyer for AI ethics, fractional general counsel services, or digital estate planning. The next practice area is always born from pain points of the moment or curiosity about solving a new problem.<\/p>\n 5. You Did It Before and Can Do It Again<\/strong><\/p>\n When your practice dries up, it\u2019s hard not to feel like a failure. But here\u2019s the thing that\u2019s true for every law firm owner: You\u2019ve built something from nothing once before.<\/a> You figured out how to\u00a0 attract clients, make money, and turn uncertainty into opportunity. Those skills don\u2019t disappear<\/p>\n So, when the bottom drops out, don\u2019t just brace for the fall. Use it as a pivot point. Shed the parts of your practice that no longer serve you or your clients and build what comes next on your own terms. Because in the end, survival isn\u2019t what defines law firm owners \u2014 reinvention does. If you\u2019ve done it once, you can absolutely do it again.<\/p>\n Just like me.<\/p>\n Carolyn Elefant is one of the country\u2019s most recognized advocates for solo and small firm lawyers. She founded MyShingle.com in 2002, the longest-running blog for solo practitioners, where she has published thousands of articles, resources, and guides on starting, running, and growing independent law practices. She is the author of Solo by Choice, widely regarded as the definitive handbook for launching and sustaining a law practice, and has spoken at countless bar events and legal conferences on technology, innovation, and regulatory reform that impacts solos and smalls. Elefant also develops practical tools like the\u00a0AI Teach-In<\/a>\u00a0to help small firms adopt AI and she consistently champions reforms to level the playing field for independent lawyers. Alongside this work, she runs the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant, a national energy and regulatory practice that handles selective complex, high-stakes matters.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What would you do if your law practice suddenly lost all of its clients and you had to start over from scratch? That may sound like a dramatic hypothetical \u2014 until you look around. 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