The WOLEP network: a better way for lawyers to counter the COVID-19 pandemic

Accordingly, it is safe to say that this can be described as a “D-Day” for lawyers worldwide, and that the way you’ll react to the present crisis is sure to determine the future of your career and your legal business for the coming decades. It is critical that firm operations and lawyers’ moves adapt to the changing demands of their clients, taking into account the emerging trends but also the hurdles consumers face when trying to access the legal services of a lawyer.

This is a D-Day for lawyers worldwide. The way you react to the present crisis is sure to determine the future of your career and your legal business for the coming decades

According to a 2020 analysis by Clio, a prominent player in cloud-based legal technology, law firms confronted with the COVID-19 effects have seen a 30 percent drop in the legal matters opened each week, while survey data also showed that 56% of law firms have seen a significant decrease in requests for legal assistance. Yet not everything had to do with the consumer worries associated to the pandemic: while 49% of the respondents did say that they would delay legal issues until after the pandemic, notably 22% reported that they were under the impression that lawyers have ceased offering legal services completely!

22% of consumers reported during the COVID-19 pandemic that they thought lawyers have ceased offering legal services completely

What the data suggests is that the need for legal services has not decreased, only that a) it’s not the top priority for many people right now and b) that lawyers and law firms need to better understand consumers’ worries, anxieties and the barriers which arose between clients and themselves, and to adapt their services to the current and future needs of clients.

Furthermore, the pandemic isn’t always about jeopardy and vulnerabilities, it also creates opportunities for the lawyers’ industry: according to the survey, 13% of the consumers say they expect to deal expressly with a COVID-19-related legal issue.

Positively, lawyers are perceived as an essential service, with 78% of the people questioned labelling them as such, and 20% of the people saying that lawyers have become even more relevant now than before the pandemic struck.

While social distancing has clearly impeded the normal functioning of the judicial system and also the relationship between lawyers and their clients, the COVID-19 pandemic has also stepped up many emerging trends in the industry, of which digitalisation is a key development.

Lawyers are perceived as an essential service by 78% of the people questioned in a survey on the state of the industry

If they want not only to survive in this unforgiving new landscape but also to thrive, lawyers and lawyers’ firms have to join the digital realm and they have to do it fast. But that’s not all: they also have to become more flexible in regard to the way they work, by providing remote legal assistance via videolink and secure web apps, and also by working in collaborative, pan-national and sometimes pan-European projects as part of a bigger team in which work is duly shared by way of specialisation, bringing the power of team synergy to the table.

What WOLEP brings to the table for European lawyers and law firms alike

We have developed WOLEP in order to provide lawyers across Europe with a way to enhance both their revenue and their professional prestige, two areas which have both felt the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year. Clients have either frozen their legal actions, waiting for the pandemic to subside, or lawyers fees have shrunk, as at the end of the day they are dependent on the (financial) wellbeing of the clients. Furthermore, lots of clients, whether we’re talking individuals or corporate clients, have seen their businesses greatly affected by the pandemic, which has caused a chain reaction affecting also the legal services required by those businesses.

Digitalisation is unavoidable in every industry, with the pandemic dramatically accelerating the need to “move online” and do business there. WOLEP is a brilliant digital asset for lawyers

WOLEP aims both to solve the problems lawyers face in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to usher in the new, digital reality to lawyers across Europe. It has become evident that digitalisation is unavoidable in every industry, with the pandemic dramatically accelerating the need to “move online” and do business there. WOLEP is in fact such a digital asset, which facilitates the professional collaboration between lawyers, helps lawyers work together on projects with shared benefits, while also helping them to get new clientele by using modern communication tools and the internet. Through the network it creates and the business opportunities its members generate for their peers, WOLEP is a unique proposition for the world of lawyers, which will improve their cashflow but also their status within their industry, validating their high standard of legal practice. Learn more about WOLEP here.

Are you a legal eagle with a passion for collaboration? Join forces with other legal professionals and elevate your practice to the next level. Don't wait, sign up now to WOLEP and connect with like-minded lawyers today. Register your account here.