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10 September 2020 / Matthew Kay
Issue: 7901 / Categories: Features , Profession , Covid-19
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No turning back? Lessons from lockdown

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Matthew Kay highlights the opportunities presented by the ‘new normal’ of the post-lockdown legal landscape
  • Key takeaways from lockdown: Trusting employees—office based to more remote working; Faith in the flexible—adopting a flexible working policy on a large scale; A supportive work environment—continuing to communicate and build strong relationships.

 


 

As we ease out of lockdown and embark on our ‘new normal’, we should not forget the lessons learnt from the last few months. Some have experienced hardship, loss and health difficulties—this hasn’t been a rosy time. However, the slower pace of life has given us time to reflect on who and what we value in our lives, which can easily be forgotten when juggling the priorities of the day-to-day.

Law firms now find themselves in a different legal landscape. A few have not survived and the coming months will be full of opportunity as well as challenges.

Spotlight

In recent years interest and initiatives to improve lawyers work life balance have grown and during lockdown there’s been

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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