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28 May 2021 / Dominic Ayres
Issue: 7934 / Categories: Features , Marketing , Profession , Covid-19 , Legal services
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Making the best of black swan events

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How can your firm help clients navigate change in unforeseen circumstances? Dominic Ayres provides some insight
  • Firms that know what their clients truly need—and how to provide it—can position themselves as the trusted partners that clients turn to in times of turbulence.

Given the backdrop of Brexit and the US elections, law firms expected uncertainty and turbulent change in 2020; yet the global breakout of COVID-19, which many commentators have termed a ‘black swan event’, was to overshadow all other concerns. With the country in lockdown, clients turned to their legal advisers to help their businesses adapt and navigate the disruption brought on by COVID-19, and the significant role legal advisers can play in adding greater value to clients beyond routine legal matters became apparent.

Adding value

Requests for information and help came through daily from clients at the height of the lockdown last year, and those firms that could respond by servicing these via workshops, bespoke client notes and more, will have strengthened their relationships

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Nick Vernon, Walkers Bermuda

NLJ Career Profile: Nick Vernon, Walkers Bermuda

Nick Vernon of Walkers on swapping Birmingham for Bermuda and building an employment practice by the sea

Bird & Bird—Christian Bartsch

Bird & Bird—Christian Bartsch

Global firm re-elects CEO for second term

Fletchers Group—Miriam Hall

Fletchers Group—Miriam Hall

Business appoints managing director of operational excellence

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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