For a second I thought that COVID-19 is a matter of the past and very soon, very few of us will remember it even happened. Obviously, the impact of it affected each and every one of us and although we like to think that we were able to leave behind our memories and feelings about it, in a way, it is possible that it will haunt us throughout our entire life. I personally like to think of the positive influence the pandemic had on us and especially the legal industry. For the first time, we've had the chance to look at the legal world as one, rather than isolated legal systems. Today, we don't talk about countries in terms of Constitutional, Sharia or Common Law jurisdictions, but rather looking for a breakthrough between them and creating a strong bridge supported by the latest technical discoveries. The good thing about it is that what we have discovered in our search was that each of these countries are committed to growth and the pandemic served as a little push towards that, which is a great thing. To me Africa was always a mystery, and I was very excited to have my team look into its latest "legal moves" so to speak. Africa went into a COVID-19 lockdown, imposed by the government, along with everyone else. It did feel for a moment like the end of the "legal era". However, once they've got the hang of working remotely, it has improved efficiencies and the courts indeed, moved to holding virtual proceedings. "The story of the countries, around the world, that invested in cutting edge technologies that allowed them to cope with the crisis, was pretty much similar", says Robert Legh, Chairman from Bowmans. According to him, the life of these firms will be very different post-pandemic. He has also mentioned that “we have realized that most of our people can work effectively from home, we need less space, and we don’t need all of our 42 boardrooms; I think we may end up with smaller offices and more flexible working arrangements.” To me, having a more flexible working schedule seems like a dream come true for every lawyer at least in the United States, not to mention the saving costs on the office spaces.
Marelise van der Westhuizen, managing partner at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa, said that the firm was fortunate to have renegotiated leases to rationalize and modernize its office facilities in December. This and our technology infrastructure prepared us for working remotely and for our post COVID-19 model, whereby 50% of our staff will continue to do so at any one time. The pandemic accelerated our move to a paperless environment and facilitated a completely new approach.”
The pandemic, in a way, also helped transform the lawyers' mindset. If yesterday, they had a choice between practicing law the old fashioned way, today they are forced to transform and reinvent their legal practice. The winners of the post COVID-19 are those lawyers that are entrepreneurial, can foresee clients' future needs and move into new areas quickly.
Today, the challenge for law firms is how to remain profitable in the post COVID-19 new normal. Aside from having to deal with the challenge of having less business and keeping afloat, despite government-backed relief measures, firms have to keep an eye on overheads. Thus, the challenge for law firms in Africa, and not only, remains to stay profitable in the time of adversity and legal tech transformation. What is your country's legal system long term plan?