Having been involved in litigation for more than 40 years, partly working as a litigation
fee earner in UK law firms and then 20 years in eDiscovery, like many, I have
seen recessions, “boom and bust” times and now of course the unprecedented
difficulties for businesses surrounding the pandemic that is Covid-19.
Given that those of us involved in litigation in one way or another for this length of
time often say that litigation, investigations, and dispute resolution
generally, is “recession and crisis proof” I am wondering about the
opportunities and challenges facing SA law firms at this time. These thoughts
occurred to me after reading 3 excellent posts and articles on the theme
written by people who know what they are talking about, two of them by people
known to me personally.
The first from David Morley (whom I am sorry to say I do not know), former Senior Partner
of global law firm Allen & Overy in which he sums up the challenges within
law firms and gives straight forward thinking on the stark realities. Reduce
Partners income? Slash junior lawyers head count? Reduce admin and support staff and any other
non fee earners? Tremendously insightful article which I commend lawyers in SA
to read.
The second by Greg Wildesen, a hugely experienced eDiscovery guy, (whom I do know) who posted
on Link, “Legal
has previously thrived on market crash exits - this time though it is
inevitable the legal service delivery model will face significant change. A
change for the better for all.”, following an
article in the UK Times to the effect that an outbreak of litigation is inevitable
Finally, the third by Vince Neicho of Integreon, London and formerly with Allen & Overy
for more years than he can remember heading up eDiscovery there (I am happy to
have known Vince for more than 15 years), in
which he refers to the cyclical nature of litigation and offers advice and hope
as to how to deal with it through outsourced review.
So what can SA law firms learn from all that is happening and what has been written and are
they already reacting? Well some certainly are because anyone can see, now,
that litigation is rising rapidly in SA at the moment even if the majority of
cases surround actions brought against the Government in connection with their
alleged mishandling of lockdown regulations. Similarly, we are seeing an
increase in investigations, with, no doubt, more to follow now that the Zondo
Commission on State Capture is resuming this month.
My point is that the smart law firms will not only survive this crisis but prosper from it.
Careful, sound, long-sighted decisions need to be made to avoid “knee jerk”
reactions that involve slashing staff. Similarly, the increase in contentious
work should not be seen as an open invitation to increase staffing levels.
Rather, work smart, manage the workload, and prepare for an increased workload
by taking advantage of technology and such operations as outsourced document
review. Using technology is of course my main interest – the increased use of
eDiscovery technology to materially assist with litigation and investigations.
It is incontrovertible that using the technology reduces the cost and time in a
case but it also reduces risk and manpower.
Difficult times call for decisive actions and a positive attitude and I call on SA law
firms to take advantage and step up.