The recession triggered by the pandemic has come quickly andcould have the tailwinds to be as severe as the 2008 FinancialCrisis, although we won't know for sure until the event is ourrearview mirror. The silver lining, however, is that manyindustries are better poised to weather the storm, which could helpstave off job loss business closers. In Los Angeles, the legalindustry is a primary example. The legal industry was hit hard bythe 2008 financial crisis, but this time, the industry is wellpositioned to handle the economic dislocation ahead.

"This time, most law firms have better managed their leasedspace and have been carrying a lot less growth space,"Stephen Bay, vice chairman atCBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. "Over the past cycle manyfirms have embraced efficient and flexible office space strategies.This fundamental change is definitely benefitting them today, as wemove through a period of substantial economic volatility."

Los Angeles is the second largest legal services market in thecountry, and it has rapidly expanded over the last decade. Since2015, the industry has expanded more than 12% in Los Angeles. "Theindustry was buoyed overall by the U.S. economic expansion in thepast cycle," Danny Rees, first VP at CBRE, tellsGlobeSt.com. "Plus, in Los Angeles specifically, the growth ofstreaming business, especially over the past 5 years or so, hascreated significant ancillary growth across all professionalservices companies, including law firms."