Covid-19 has created a lot of confusion around the world. However, it also made the world a smaller place. Many businesses had to transform their approach to customers, product delivery, marketing and so on. Those who survived the pandemic and now thrive are the ones who were able to see change as an opportunity to grow and faced the times of adversity with grace. Those who did not, had to close down. These times of adversity represent great tests for us as individuals and entities. They show our commitment to ourselves and to others because without commitment everything fades away.
Just a year ago we were terrified about the impact the pandemic had on our lives, but today this is all history. One of the biggest impacts we've seen happening in the legal industry, and not only, was everyone being forced to move out of their offices. It was not just about the move per se, but the impact it had on people's lives. Suddenly, a lot of challenges individuals and entities were facing vanished, to make room for other hardships that surfaced. For many of us, the commute to the office was not an issue anymore, instead we had to be creative about meeting work deadlines while being overwhelmed with childcare, or other responsibilities tied to our homes. For some of us, this transition served as a reminder that no man is an island and although work has served as a bandage to many challenges that were facing in our homes, this time around there was no place to hide or run away.
This trend could probably be observed in any part of the world. Because in this time of adversity it didn't really matter whether you are in a city like New York or Sao Paulo, Brazil.
And once the world has settled in with the new routing, companies began to talk about ways to make the transition back to the office smooth. Although, we do not have a number as to how many people have returned back to their offices, with the vaccine rollout in full swing, still more are planning their next steps for a safe return, and permanent changes to their offices based on the lessons learned in the past year.
In countries like Brazil, Chile and Peru, and not only, the office is here to stay. Surprisingly, only 13% of executives are prepared to let go of the office for good. Meanwhile, 87% of employees say that the office is important for collaborating with team members and building relationships - their top-related needs for the office. What if companies come up with better ways to meet these needs without having to bring their employees back into an office? Do we really need "face to face" encounters in order to socialize and collaborate in a time where social media is omnipresent in our lives? What piece of this puzzle is missing? Time will tell...
I personally see this an exciting time to enter a law career and not only in Brazil, Chile or Peru. If you've entered the legal industry way before the pandemic, you will know what I mean. However, exciting does not mean without challenge. This time around, law students and junior lawyers will not have to adapt to old behaviors, change systems and the traditional way of working. Instead, they will become part of a new culture that can affect radical and position change in the profession. Because remote work allowed us to humanize our colleagues at work by seeing them in their home spaces with their pets and partners, the line dividing the personal and work lives became quite blurred. This change will drive more flexibility within the law firms hierarchies.
We are about to see law firms focusing more on emotional intelligence, client/customer focus and the ability to flex and adapt to the technological changes. Reliance on technology will allow the next generation of legal professionals to excel. What will be expected from the future lawyers:
- they will have to demonstrate the ability to work with multiple softwares and show their digital expertise from the application process onwards;
- they will also need to maintain their brand profiles and find new way to attract clients;
- build fruitful relationships without using traditional networking events/sponsorship/hospitality, as social distancing becomes more conventional.
The good thing about it is that junior lawyers will be able to distinguish themselves technologically and entrepreneurially through finding creative (and effective) solutions to this.
In Brazil, many organizations have kept their employees on remote work even after the expiry of the provisional government decree on the matter. If before the pandemic, law firms used to thrive off the personalized experience between the client and lawyer, today without personal connection clients can no longer be persuaded to stay loyal to one firm over another. The safety-net of loyal customers has disappeared. COVID has also impacted the way clients spend money.
In the post-pandemic era, in order to differentiate themselves from others, law firms have to start creating new products and sales techniques beyond legal advisory services. We are not surprised at all to see law firms being reluctant to change. This is an industry that relies on its history as guidance towards its future. However, technology is one of the main areas where law firms have been particularly slow to adapt. Will the post-pandemic impact provoke law firms to extend their perception on technology and see it not only as a tool, but rather its own division or business? Time will tell. What role technology plays in your legal practice today?
by Galina Barbascumpa