How South Africa's Law Firms Are Preparing for the Post-COVID Era

When COVID-19 first hit South Africa and the government introduced a hard lockdown, there was a concern among law firms that everything would grind to a halt.

But once they got the hang of working remotely, it has improved efficiencies and the courts too have started moving processes online.

Larger firms that had previously invested in cutting edge digital technologies were better equipped to cope with the crisis than smaller firms that had not, says Robert Legh, Chairman at major law firm Bowmans. He said life for law firms is likely to be different in the post COVID-19 era.

“We have realized that most of our people can work effectively from home, we need less space, and we don’t need all of our 42 boardrooms.

“I think we may end up with smaller offices and more flexible working arrangements.”

In addition, lawyers have become used to working more independently.

For Bowmans, workflow has continued in areas like disputes, banking and finance, labor law, and the restructuring of businesses has been off the scale, Legh adds.

“The pandemic has challenged law firms to relook at how they operate.” 

The pandemic has challenged law firms to rethink how they operate, said Otsile Matlou, chief operating officer at ENSafrica.

He said ENSafrica transitioned to being technology based three years ago, allowing it to switch to remote working easily.

“The only thing that suffers is collegiality and the tendency to be tethered to digital communication.”

A worthwhile practice when working remotely, is digital fasting, whereby everything electronic is switched off periodically, he added.

Marelise van der Westhuizen, managing partner at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa said the firm was fortunate to have renegotiated leases to rationalize and modernize its office facilities in December.

“This and our technology infrastructure prepared us for working remotely and for our post COVID-19 model, whereby 50% of our staff will continue to do so at any one time,” she said.

“The pandemic accelerated our move to a paperless environment and facilitated a completely new approach.”

She said the crisis also transformed the older lawyers’ mindset from their “bums on seats” attitude to the merits of working remotely when they were forced to do so by lockdown regulations.

Growing and declining practice areas

Those that are nimble and entrepreneurial and can foresee clients’ future needs and move into new areas quickly will be the winners in the post COVID-19 era.

“The value proposition is no longer based on being reactive and waiting for clients to come up with problems,” says Matlou.

He said businesses are diversifying and looking for new ways of working and law firms need to help them to do this.

“For example, share options are no longer a carrot, because if the world comes to a grinding halt, shares can suddenly be worthless.”

Telecommunications and digital technologies are obvious areas for future growth, and so are pharmaceuticals as new viruses emerge and the world looks for solutions.

For Norton Rose, business in the areas of ICT and telecommunications, dispute resolution, labor law, financial restructuring and insolvencies have been thriving.

But in other areas it has fallen off including real estate, which has been really quiet.

“The pandemic has changed the way we budget, how we spend our time and what we put effort into.”

“We have not seen any predatory acquisitions yet, but it is sure to happen here as it is happening elsewhere,” van der Westhuizen said.

Jonathan Maphosa, managing partner and CEO at Maphosa Law, said the firm has been attracting COVID-19 related work including drafting related protocols and regulations and labor law advice.

“We have also advised on a number of company amalgamations, acquisitions and disposals triggered by the pandemic.”

However, in the  long term, the pool of businesses will be significantly reduced, particularly those that have struggled to keep afloat, despite government- backed relief measures.

The firm intends to hire more lawyers but is keeping a close eye on overheads, and will align its onboarding timelines with its work volumes, said Maphosa.

While the pandemic continues, no more than 40% of staff will be at the office at any time, but are not obliged to be there unless operational requirements demand it, he added.

The challenge for law firms is how to remain relevant and profitable in the post COVID-19 new normal, said Tyron Fourie, partner at Eversheds Sutherland South Africa.

“The pandemic has changed the way we budget, how we spend our time and what we put effort into.”

He said marketing the firm has always been a priority, and current events “have shown us that we need to do even more.”

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