Our tapestry of experts: Sonnenschein DC MP Fred McClure, Gerson Lehrman Group’s Aaron Kotok, Arent Fox Chairman Mark Katz, Dickstein Shapiro Chairman Mike Nannes, Garrison & Sisson founder Martha Ann Sisson, and Duff & Phelp’s Matt Medlin. Here follow excerpts:

Fred: As a result of the downturn and the way general counsel have begun to deal with us on fees, we’ve had to make adjustments. And we’ll continue to. We’ll have a new paradigm going forward. We built our budget differently this year than we did in years past. The way we control expenses has been recalibrated.    

Mike: We’re talking about fundamental market shifts; these are not temporary with a return to business as usual. We're still in only the early innings. We collectively have several years ahead of us before we’re going to work our way out of it. One phenomenon we’re seeing is that it used to be Fortune 500 general counsel had to choose big name-brand AmLaw 50 firms. Now they can’t afford not to consider high-quality alternatives.

In addition to a high volume of work related to health care reform legislation, Fred McClure has been busy on Sonnenschein’s recent combination with UK-based Denton Wilde Sapte, the new firm to be called SNR Denton.

Martha Ann: We went towards this bigger-is-better globalization: “Our clients demand it.” And now what I’m seeing is mid-sized firms have a wonderful opportunity to play up or play down. They are much more nimble than their larger counterparts.

Mark: The amount of activity and the demands on our marketing department and business development have never been higher in part because there are so many new RFPs that are coming out as clients open their eyes to see who else is out there as a provider. So that’s been a big uptick in expense.

Fred: And you have to ask the other question: Is this a perfunctory thing the client is going through? That’s particularly the case in my practice, lobbying. It’s kind of like, well, we have to go out every three years. Is there already a sense that the guys that have been doing it for the last three years are going to get to do it again?

Arent Fox’s Mark Katz, left, was named Chairman of the firm in March. His legal practice focuses on real estate finance. Gerson Lerhman’s Aaron Kotok has four very small children at home – but managed to keep both eyes open throughout lunch.

Aaron: I often wonder if firms are really looking at the associate experience. To come into an organization that historically has offered a tremendous career path and know now that a large percentage of each incoming class is going to be gone in a few years is really discouraging. 

Fred: I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think about a time when law firms will, with first and maybe second year associates, not bill their time at all to clients. If for no other reason than to give them the opportunity to have a breadth of experience many associates aren’t currently getting.

Matt: I come from an accounting firm background and there are similar issues. Now corporate clients are much tougher. They’re having their internal groups do what our staff used to do. And computers do a lot of what junior staff did when I came out of school. So the leverage has gone away. Yet the desire for profits for partner hasn’t gone away.

Mike: Clients are willing to pay for what’s best. But for things that they consider more pedestrian, they’re much more sophisticated in purchasing. Part of it is managing the relationship with the client. And, yes, we hear some of that from clients. And in those cases it’s a matter of explaining what functions the first or second year will be serving. We’ve gotten some pushback but I don’t see a huge paradigm shift. Although the headlines scream on that topic, we’re not seeing it.

While revenues for virtually all AmLaw 100 firms were down in 2009, Dickstein Shapiro Chair Mike Nannes says the very best lawyers in their fields have more work than ever. One of his partners was in such high demand he increased his fees to lighten the load. But it didn’t work. All of his clients quickly agreed to pay the new rate.

Mark: In addition to working hard and learning as much as they can, associates should also be thinking about how they can help anchor the client relationship to the law firm. When you point out to an associate that every phone call with a client is a marketing opportunity, it helps them begin to translate what they’re doing with how they can help their law firm and their own career. If you can make your client look good within their organization, whether it’s a midlevel person or the most senior one, they’re going to remember that and develop a loyalty to you. People don’t always think of that as marketing but it's one of the best forms.

Fred: What practices are hot? Healthcare reform is going to be the gift that keeps on giving. I don’t know where we’re going to end up on financial institutions reform, but there’s been a shakeout in the industry, whether it’s hedge funds or derivatives. There will be something next. Maybe we’ll get energy legislation, given the events in the Gulf.

Mark: Clearly being a Washington-based law firm differentiates you on a national level because of the significance of our city. We hear time and again that Wall Street has moved much closer to K Street. Many opportunities will emerge from this financial crisis. The many dislocations caused by the down economy are a real problem. But if history is any guide, this is also the time when fortunes can be made. New companies will be started. This is a time of new regulation and new ways of doing business. To me, there has never been a more exciting time to be a lawyer and I can’t imagine a city with more possibility than Washington.