Foreign law firms may be the first to feel the full force of the global economic slowdown, according to the managing partner at one Vietnamese domestic firm.
 
Dang The Duc, the managing partner of Indochine Counsel, believes that the downturn in staple projects and infrastructure work that is expected to result from economic contraction in the country could see them running scared.

"International law firms will be the first affected, since larger projects and cross-border work will be reduced," he said. "In the last three to four months, foreign law firms have seen a decrease in the volume of work and new inquiries. Korean outbound investment into Vietnam has decreased noticeably and substantially affected the volume of work for some Korean law firms
 
The result, according to Dang, is that some foreign firms may have to become beggars rather than choosers. "The downturn will up the ante between law firms for work. Many firms will find that they cannot be as selective [in terms of the work they take on] as they had been in the past."
 
Nevertheless, Dang believes that domestic firms should not operate under the assumption that they can cruise through the current crisis unaffected, with all firms needing to pay closer attention to firm management.

"Firms will have to be more careful with expansion plans. Some firms may have to downsize or reduce the number of fee earners next year. As such, the recruitment of lawyers will be less severe compared with 2007 and 2008."

Flexibility, as always, according to Dang, is the cornerstone of survival for law firms in testing times. "To cope with all of these changes of the economy and the world financial crisis, law firms will need to be more flexible. They may find it necessary to adjust their plans, the types of work they take on, recruitment strategies, office expansion, and even fee structure and rates."