INSIGHT: Client Engagement, Legal Service Innovations Expected Post-Pandemic

As the legal market emerges into a post-coronavirus world, law firms should engage with clients to understand what’s working (and what’s not) as people and businesses adjust to dramatically different conditions. Only by collaborating can firms really prepare themselves to supercharge innovation and productivity.

Q. How have the business challenges created by Covid-19 changed the way you look at your professional relationships, including with external counsel?

Katey Herman: The one word I would use to sum up the current climate is urgent. That’s not to say that in the past things weren’t urgent, but now it seems like everything is urgent. Going forward, we are going to assess our professional relationships, especially our legal ones, based not just on representation, knowledge, and quality of advice, but also on how well our firms understand that continuing urgency and innovate to meet that need.

Lawyers who are complacent about responding to clients or who believe the longevity of their relationships usurps the need for urgency are going to be in for a shock once clients start to assess their performance under the new business conditions.

Mark Brennan: In theory lawyers always put their clients first, but the challenges created by coronavirus have really tested that theory: Almost everyone’s work life and routine has been turned upside down, and firm attorneys dealing with new and severe challenges with their business operations and the health and safety of their people. We’re in new territory, so the pressure is on to make sure everyone is actually delivering on what previously might have seemed like a “best practice.” And having an innovative mindset that takes into account the many Covid-19 challenges is key to successfully adapting to this new reality.

For example, we have adapted some existing AI-based technology that we developed in-house to launch a new tool to help clients across industry sectors assess and tackle immediate implications and risks posed by the current global uncertainties. We have created supply chain and contract tools that help clients manage disruption and disputes, and a crisis leadership preparedness portal and app that assess readiness and helps preparedness. All of this is geared towards using innovation to help clients get through these challenges.

Obviously there are some industries that have been hit really hard, and there can be a tendency to focus on the survival aspects—will the client survive, will firms survive. That’s always detrimental to a relationship. You’ve got to work on the assumption that you and your client will survive, and those that have provided best service in a crisis are the ones who will emerge with stronger and deeper relationships.

Herman: I think that’s exactly right. Businesses need partners that have not only recognized how things have changed but have risen to these new challenges. That will be what sets relationships apart. At Pharmavite, and I am sure this is true for many businesses, the current crisis has really brought our good relationships into focus and that is something that will have long-term impact on how relationships develop once this crisis is over. Clients want their urgency understood and acted on without having to discuss it, they want proactive communication, and they want evidence that their lawyers aren’t treating this like business as usual.

Q. Taking that further, will you look beyond your individual relationships with lawyers and consider their firm’s leadership during this crisis when assessing your relationships?

Herman: We want to work with firms that can provide leadership and guidance during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, we’ve also been seeing leadership on social and racial justice matters. We want to see real change, and firms that are leading and taking meaningful action—and telling us about it—will benefit. So the message should be that if you are working on that kind of leadership, don’t be shy about telling your clients. Going forward, having a meaningful approach toward improving diversity is going to be a more significant driver of relationships in terms of how we perceive leadership at the firms we work with. That might mean evidence of improved recruitment, mentoring, and promotion of diverse lawyers, or taking other steps to support diverse leaders in the pipeline.

Brennan: The challenge for businesses, especially those in professional services, is going to be creating real, sustainable, and impactful change on diversity and inclusion. Firms need to be focusing both on retaining existing lawyers from diverse backgrounds and on growing the pipeline itself. Providing leadership and counsel is our job, and we’ve got to set the example for others to follow. So for all of the challenges the current environment has created, there is also a huge opportunity for the legal industry to lead.

Q. How important is it that law firms remain focused on innovation amid all of these other challenges?

Herman: I think disruption is an over-used word, but certainly there are a lot of firms out there thinking “how can we do this differently” with regard to firm practices, and that’s something that will only grow. So law firms are no different to taxi companies in that respect—they’ve got to be willing to be creative and flexible in how and what they deliver for their clients.

It would be a mistake to think that, as Mark put it, “survival mode” is enough. Necessity is the mother of invention, and I am sure many clients are actively looking to partner with firms that are as open to and as willing to invest in innovation as they have to be.

Brennan: I see innovation as a critical part of understanding and knowing your client, and that applies in bad times every bit as much as in good. You can’t really understand and know an innovative client if you’re not innovative yourself. That doesn’t mean permanently trying to reinvent the wheel, but it does mean that you’re always looking to do things more effectively, efficiently, and inventively.

The collaborative aspect of that, asking clients what works for them, is crucial. At times, you may need to be ready to consult with professionals from other backgrounds—scientists, economists, engineers, and others. And you also need to be ready to deliver your services on new platforms and really sync up with how your clients work—small workgroups, larger team discussions, messaging platforms, and more.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. or its owners.

Author Information

Katey Herman is senior counsel at Pharmavite LLC, a dietary supplements company whose brands include Nature Made™.

Mark W. Brennan is the global lead innovation partner for Hogan Lovells and the head of the firm’s Technology & Telecoms Industry Sector group. He represents a wide range of clients on a variety of matters including privacy, communications, and artificial intelligence.