Romeo Cosma, the mind behind the WOLEP network: „Our main value is the professional collaboration between Lawyers. Together we can do more, we can do better, and we can be more useful to our Clients”

Q: Why did you decide to start the WOLEP network? What was the reason behind this decision?

A: First of all, I have been working as a lawyer for 24 years and I have been the Managing Partner of my Law Firm for 20 years. I think it was a natural process, building over all this time. My working experience, the environment in which I have been operating, they all made me a lawyer which holds as his primary value the professional collaboration between Lawyers.

Thanks to the expertise and insight I accrued over time, I could understand that a Lawyer is not a Jack of all trades. He can’t do it all single-handedly. The Client sometimes expects from his Lawyer exactly this: that he solves it all, all his legal challenges.

I also noticed a feeling of attachment developing over time between Clients and their Lawyers. They trust their Lawyers, they trust their expertise, they tend to share all the legal troubles they face. So this really tight bond between Clients and Lawyers has always been something I admired and sought to emulate, something close to my heart. As you know, when you like something, you want it to continue, to move to the next level. As such, the idea of setting up the infrastructure for a professional lawyers’ network came up „ex-officio”, so to speak, as a natural consequence of my work and life experiences in the legal field up to this point, as well as of the things I believe in.

A Lawyer is not a «Jack of all trades». He can’t do it all single-handedly.

The idea of setting up the infrastructure for a professional lawyers’ network came up „ex-officio”, so to speak, as a natural consequence of my work and life experiences in the legal field.

I believe in Lawyers working with one another, I believe in their professionalism and – something which might surprise you – I believe wholeheartedly in the honesty of Lawyers. And I think that, given proper circumstances, Lawyers always act honestly. In inappropriate or risky circumstances, when things are not that stable or certain, Lawyers sometimes don’t act properly.

The whole concept of building the WOLEP network is based on this value: cooperation between Lawyers, having as its objective a significant increase in the professional capacity of each of its members. Together we can do more, we can do better, and we can be more useful to our Clients.

Q: Please share with us, in a nutshell, the main advantages of the WOLEP network.

A: There are some general advantages that lawyers’ networks hold, precisely because they manage to mobilise the intellectual energy of many Lawyers, bring them together, so they can offer some better, more complete, more valuable services to their Clients. I think this general advantage of networks, and of lawyers’ network in particular, was also a pillar of WOLEP upon its inception.

Beside this general value, there’s also something which is again related to context: I, as a lawyer, have an affinity for modern technologies. I developed it in time, and I was keen to expand upon it. I think the main benefit of WOLEP is that it combines the «traditional» advantages of a professional network of lawyers – with the new technologies. The result should be a working environment for Lawyers which will be straightforward, secure, in which every member can grow his own business, by using the modern instruments provided by the Internet.

I think the main benefit of WOLEP is that it combines the «traditional» advantages of a professional network of lawyers with the new technologies.

Q: How does WOLEP enhance the professional collaboration between European lawyers?

A: Collaboration is a key value of our profession. Broadly speaking, Lawyers are competing with one another. The environment in which Lawyers act is a highly competitive one. In such an environment, when one talks about collaboration and professional confraternity, one has to define very clearly the scenarios in which these values can express themselves.

It would be naive to expect professional confraternity from two Lawyers who are opponents in a disputed case. It’s almost ludicrous. There’s a fine line and it needs to be properly drawn. Professional competition exists and it’s part of the DNA of Lawyers. But so are confraternity and collaboration between Lawyers, in my opinion.

Thing is, professional competition is there for all to see on a daily basis, while for cooperation between Lawyers to manifest itself, you need to have a context. You need to create proper circumstances.

Professional competition exists and it’s part of the DNA of Lawyers. But so are confraternity and collaboration between Lawyers.

The difference between competition and collaboration is made by how things work. The WOLEP network and its infrastructure, which we offer our members, creates such a context. Two or three Lawyers brought together, not to mention a few hundred or thousands, can do wonderful things for our profession and for their Clients. It’s about putting to the best of uses the professional pedigree of these Lawyers.

Coming back to your question, Europe nowadays is a far cry from the Europe of the 90s. It’s a pan-European project, not a fragmented, nationalistic one. Business in Europe is very different from a few decades ago or even a few years ago. I think we can already draw a line in the sand, and say that successful businesses nowadays are global. We’re talking multinational companies, which have a share of the market in every EU country, which project this share on EU level. Well, when Clients tend to do business globally, we as their Lawyers should also think globally. Wolep does exactly this: it gives Lawyers the opportunity to work globally, to extend their expertise to the whole EU. 

When Clients tend to do business globally, we as their Lawyers should also think globally. Wolep does exactly this: it gives lawyers the opportunity to work globally, to extend their expertise to the whole EU.

A Client operating in the whole Eurozone or in a part of the EU, but who is aiming to extend operations, let’s say, in the emerging markets such as Central Europe, will expect that his traditional Lawyer can offer him legal support, regardless of the market he chooses. WOLEP creates the opportunity for such collaborations.

So, with WOLEP, you can keep your long-serving Lawyer, but now he can give you, aided by his network and the professional collaborations it entails, legal support in all the EU countries.

Business in Europe is very different from a few decades ago or even a few years ago. I think we can already draw a line in the sand, and say that successful businesses nowadays are global.

The Internet means and the secure network environment WOLEP provides its members facilitates cooperation between them. There’s an adage that amenity creates the habit. If there’s a benefit, behaviour soon follows. WOLEP offers this amenity and these benefits, and we expect Lawyers to express themselves by using them – a secure communication environment, full confidentiality and security of transmissions, honest working relationships between Lawyers, with the effect for Lawyers being the added value we mentioned earlier, plus the increase in potential and consistency towards their own Clients.

With WOLEP, we didn’t invent the wheel. Such things as cooperation and communication between Lawyers were already technologically possible. What WOLEP does is streamlining the whole process and making it much easier. And more importantly, it helps Lawyers know each other, ever since they join. We bring together Lawyers sporting the same professional values – first and foremost, professional collaboration. From there on, WOLEP gives its members the chance to talk to each other, to know each other better, to exchange ideas, projects, and move from minutiae to complex collaborations. It gives them a chance to trust other Lawyers. Generally speaking, people don’t trust one another because they don’t know the person in front of them.

Within WOLEP, we put great emphasis on functionalities that enable Lawyers to know each other, and to set up collaborative projects. Whenever they find common interests, they’ll be able to quickly develop collaborations.

Within WOLEP, we put great emphasis on functionalities that enable Lawyers to know each other, and to set up collaborative projects.

Q: According to forecasts, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation in key domains by 5 years. Is that also true for the legal field, in your opinion?

A: Firstly, the pandemic has revealed a few problems. Traditionally, Lawyers were of course people who interacted a lot with other people. They were meeting with Clients, going  to court rooms, going through all sorts of negotiations and working in teams of Lawyers. So, a Lawyer is, in general, an individual with high public exposure.

The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic has only revealed the risks Lawyers are subject to. Although during lockdown activity as we knew it was temporarily halted for most of the economic activities, everything connected to law continued to function, even if it was limited to certain cases. But access to law for citizens, during this period, could not be totally restricted. Because this is how society works, there was a greater risk for Lawyers to contract the SARS-COV-2 virus.

Access to law for citizens, during this period, could not be totally restricted. Because this is how society works, there was a greater risk for Lawyers to contract the SARS-COV-2 virus.

The social crisis which the pandemic generated has forced humanity to look around at the technologies it had at its disposal so that the social needs of people were met, even in times when social interaction poses a risk of contagion. Everything related to the Internet and the digital environment has been perceived by society, in general, as a solution to this problem. Education moved online, as did government. Of course that, in the legal field also, things unfolded similarly. But there are a few psychological barriers in the relationship between Client and Lawyer. A first obstacle is related to the confidentiality between the parties, which is vital in our field. A second barrier is the novelty of the situation. It’s a brand-new way in which the Client can interact with his Lawyer. But so was when the Client could contact his Lawyer by using a cell phone. It was also a novelty at that point in time. Scheduling a consultation via phone had been happening for a long time. But contacting him whenever you had a problem, and not only during working hours, has been a breakthrough.

Now, to have access to a video-audio legal consultation with your chosen lawyer is, again, something new in the history of mankind. And I think society has some expectations in this regard. I am thinking at tech’s popularity nowadays. As long as our children can learn online, via video link, why wouldn’t their parents expect to talk to their Lawyer also via video link?

It’s a brand new way in which the Client can interact with his Lawyer. But so was when the Client could contact his Lawyer by using a cell phone.

I think the social crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic made society look for such a manner of contact. In my opinion, this way of interacting with your Lawyer will become commonplace in the near future. Why? Because it has a number of benefits which simply cannot be ignored, economically speaking. Namely, prior to the pandemic, to get a consultation with a Lawyer, you had to book an appointment with him/her. At the set time, you had to drive 20 to 30 minutes to his office and so lose precious time in traffic. And then you had to find a parking spot, talk to the Lawyer for half an hour or maybe an hour, during which you had to show him some documents, then obtain his legal counsel. So the time spent by the Client was not solely limited to that hour spent in the Lawyer’s office, he spent at least one more hour traveling to that office. Time has become very valuable to us all. When the same thing can be accomplished from your laptop, I don’t see why someone would choose the old way and travel to the office, if what you need is legal counsel.

Reality always wins. We’ve also been conservative when the automobile first came up. But when people noticed it shortened distances, driving became commonplace and replaced other ways of moving around. Maybe this example is a bit extreme. But what stays true is that every technology that helped the consumer save time and effort has always ultimately become the norm. I honestly think that this technology will become standard for Lawyers working with their Clients.

As long as our children can learn online, via video link, why wouldn’t their parents expect to talk to their Lawyer also via video link?

Secondly, we can also talk about the working relationship between Lawyers. This need was even greater, I reckon. When you can manage such a relationship in a clear and streamlined fashion, when agreements and document transfers are unambiguous, when a rigour is instated within such a collaboration, I don’t see why a Lawyer would pass such an opportunity. Maybe if one is more individualistic, he can pass it. It doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it’s just his way of doing business. Some Lawyers work more individually, while others like to work collectively. For the latter, WOLEP is an opportunity.

Some Lawyers work more individually, while others like to work collectively. For the latter, WOLEP is an opportunity.

Q: We know that you’ve comprehensively assessed the legal field, prior to building WOLEP. This network boasts some technical advances which separate it from similar attempts. What can you tell us about them?

A: Indeed, we tried to survey what other professional networks have done, for better or worse. That’s how we managed to better understand the needs of the modern Lawyer in general. One such primary need is related to his practice. A Lawyer needs to be a master in his field, in his specialty. This is satisfied through all those long years of Law School, through specialisation, through everyday practice, and represents a need which is satisfied on-the-job. Provided the Lawyer is diligent, of course.

The second need of the modern Lawyer is related to professional prestige. It is what his clientele thinks of him, and represents a critical need. Professional prestige has a few components, such as public image, the public presentation of his most treasured values, both moral and humane, communicating the way he conducts his professional life. And then there’s how Clients can obtain information on that Lawyer. The professional prestige of a Lawyer manifests itself on many levels.

The third need of a Lawyer is his accessibility, namely how easily Clients can engage with him. This is were a cultural shift has taken place. Being easily accessible has not been a traditional feature of Lawyers. Usually, Lawyers were hard to reach, because they had a congested agenda, because they were not always close to their phone to answer calls from their Clients, because generally speaking you had to schedule an appointment with a Lawyer. The more a Lawyer was requested, the less time he spent near his landline so the chances of reaching him were slimmer. Things are not so different nowadays. The problem is, I don’t think Clients are willing anymore to wait for a Lawyer. Clients are much more hurried, much more dynamic. In fact, social life is more hectic than ever. So, often, Clients change Lawyers or come to be disappointed by them exactly because their Lawyer is hard to get to. They’d rather develop a working relationship with a Lawyer they barely know, because they value his availability and the easy ways they can reach him.

Being easily accessible has not been a traditional feature of Lawyers. We can see a cultural shift has taken place – Clients are no longer willing to wait for a Lawyer who is hard to get to.

The fourth need that we noticed is related to a working environment based on trust. Most of the time, Lawyers take on the individual route exactly because they have no certainties concerning the longevity of the collaborations they develop. They start a collaboration with a certain colleague, and as soon as they do it, doubts start to creep in. 

Let me give you a plain example: let’s say there’s a Law Firm covering three practice areas. They’re outstanding, and they have Clients operating in those areas. Well, the Managing Partner of the Law Firm notices that Clients sometimes require the services of Lawyers from other practice areas, or sometimes hire a Lawyer from another geographical zone, let’s say from another EU country. He sees Clients demanding such services. That’s when the Managing Partner(s) of that Law Firm have to make a decision: if there are enough Clients that require legal counsel from another practice area outside the Firm’s portfolio, they’ll start thinking that hiring a Lawyer with that specialty is required. And now let’s go back to the doubts I was talking about. Can you honestly undertake this, i.e. bringing in a new Lawyer, not knowing if you can provide him with enough clientele so that all parties are happy? In practice, there are often doubts in this regard.

WOLEP solves the headache of not knowing whether you can provide your new Lawyer with enough workflow and clientele. Business dealings between Lawyers are not monthly or annual, nor are they firm agreements involving monthly earnings for the Lawyer joining a professional collaboration.

WOLEP solves this problem, because business dealings between Lawyers are not monthly or annual, nor are they firm agreements involving monthly earnings for the Lawyer joining a professional collaboration. 

So, in my opinion, Lawyers will be much more eager to begin precise collaborations, depending on the Clients’ needs. Because the network puts great emphasis on knowing each other, we believe these collaborations will be successful – meaning that Lawyers will manage to find, within WOLEP, collaborators with similar professional values and practice standards, satisfying their Clients and offering them highly qualified legal services.

End of part 1

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