How European Law Firms are Adapting to Support their Clients During Covid-19

Although the Covid-19 emergency has obliged most workers to operate under special conditions, all sectors have been reorganized according to their needs in light of the current pandemic. The visibly declining economy is forcing states towards loans and other forms of financing to prevent an overly dramatic impact on the population. Luxembourg, for example, took just 24 hours to raise €2.5 billion in state loans. In our previous article, we analyzed how European Law Firms' responded to Covid-19. Today we look at the support law firms and states offer to meet clients’ and businesses’ basic needs and expectations. 

A prompt response
We asked law firms how they are helping their clients. Overall, their response to the crisis was timely and targeted.

Most law firms, including Arendt, Bonelli Erede, Wildgen, Monard Law, Lenz & Staehelin, have established specific online spaces where the latest information about the virus related to the legal market is published.

Linklaters continuously updates its “European practical guidance on significant commercial and legal issues” space while Bird & Bird is guiding internet users with a map summing up the impact of the pandemic on different sectors and practices of the legal landscapes: the user can directly learn about the latest news on their relative practice by clicking on each icon.

Luxembourg-based law firm BSP has proposed advertisement about Electronic Signature, Commercial and Residential Lease Arrangements, Impact on Insolvency Proceedings... while German law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s latest article is focusing on giving advice to companies.

Some other law firms, including Luxembourg DSM Avocats à la Cour, German Beiten Burkhardt, Belgian Liedekerke, and French law firm Jeantet, are organizing webinars covering issues such as employment measures and general assembly meetings and procedures.       

Benelux law firm Stibbe pointed out that the ongoing coronavirus-tracing app debate and the impact the crisis has had on traditional working structures have brought about many questions regarding data protection and other TMT issues. 

“The potential use of software to measure the productivity of employees working from home is a very hot topic right now. The use of corporate software licences for employees working from home is another one,”  remarked Erik Valgaeren, TMT/data protection partner at Stibbe.

Lawyers' esteem
What will the post-lockdown landscape look like for law firms and their clients? We wanted to find out what major changes or paradigm shifts firms are expecting that would likely affect their practices in the coming months.

Most law firms assured us that their work since the beginning of the pandemic had not undergone any radical change. 

 
 “We don’t see a major shift coming because our systems were setup to maximize teleworking already before the crisis,” commented Lydian.

Some, including Swiss firms Aceris Law, emphasize that the change will mainly be felt by their clients. “The biggest impact is on our current and future clients, Obviously, clients in the oil and aviation industries have been heavily impacted by the crisis. We would expect international travel to be seriously restricted for at least one year, perhaps two,” says William Kirtley, an arbitration partner at the firm. Kirtley expects a significant increase in virtual arbitration hearings over the next two years.  

According to Belgian Law Firm Lydian, other practices such as labor law and HR, contractual and insurance matters will also see their activities rising significantly. Paris firm CSAM Associés believes that the most affected sector will be financial markets and investment funds. Aurélien Martin, a founding partner at the firm, argues that it should still be possible to deal with all counsel activities efficiently during these uncertain times, litigation activities are, however, temporarily discontinued.

Both the European Union and its member states have actively been trying to fight the ongoing pandemic, by implementing various financial support measures. How effective have states’ responses been in supporting European businesses?

Despite the heavy impact, law firms seem to be mostly satisfied with the measures taken by their respective governments. “We believe the Belgian Security Council has done a good job and handled this crisis correctly,” commented a partner at Lydian.
The same opinion is held by Mario di Stefano (DSM Avocats à la Cour), who praised the good work done by the Luxembourg government, while still pointing out: “However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the measures announced will not be sufficient to save all of the businesses that are impacted by the crisis, in particular those which are affected by the shutdown of restaurants, bars, most of retail, artists, events planners.”

Overall, most law firms seem satisfied with the responses of their state in dealing with the emergency. 

The other firms have also responded positively to the crisis. Some, such as Jean-Marc Valot, founder of BG2V Avocats Associés, added that if adjustments are necessary, they will be made from the top: “Nevertheless, adjustments will be made first on the remuneration of partners and suppliers that are absolutely not necessary.”

You can also read: The Belgian Justice and Covid-19 ; Winning the Healthcare War ; Crisis Management during Covid-19 ; Heroes- Zeroes Assesing the pandemic's key players 

Francesco Magon (@francesco_magon)