Page 4 - Trandformation Report 2020/2021.indd

Introduction

It is again my privilege to present this fourth Group Transformation
Report for the periods 2020/21. These years will go down in
history as the time of the Covid-19 pandemic and for many they
represent a period of challenge, loss and struggle.

Yet, if one can look past the obvious consequences, the pandemic has also
been a time of great change, innovation and a coming together to form new
ways of working, thinking and interacting.

No profession has been left untouched by the pandemic, including the legal
profession. Law firms were forced to a standstill overnight with many legal authorities
like courts, master’s offices, deeds offices, revenue services, etc. in lockdown or
functioning with limited capacity. Law firms for the most part were ill-prepared for
remote work and unable to effectively service clients electronically and continue
their practices safely and securely in a remote working digital environment.

But, as the human spirit prevails, so too have law firms overcome
many of these challenges and come to embrace change.

Firms have overcome their innate resistance to change and have implemented
new technologies, reconsidered their traditional views on the workplace and
generally deepened their understanding of the importance of work-life balance.
The pandemic has in this way become a tipping point for firms to modernise their
practices, rethink their use of staff and reposition their take on client service and
marketing.

GROUP TRANSFORMATION REPORT 2020 / 2021 PAGE 4