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«MORE HOURS ADVISING CLIENTS THAN EVER BEFORE”: WOLEP’S BUSINESS LAWYERS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THEIR PANDEMIC CHALLENGES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The past two years have been tumultuous for the economy, with many businesses being forced to
recalibrate their efforts and to rethink their development in order to survive. Moreover, the myriad
problems brought on by the pandemic meant that legal assistance was more crucial than ever to
secure vital postponements, debt delays, tax exemptions and to preserve jobs. We talked to several
WOLEP members, specialists in Business Law, about the complex problems they had to deal with,
and how they managed to assist their Clients, sometimes against the odds.
First line of order in our enquiry was the attitude of courts towards Business Lawyers, in the context
of the pandemic. We wanted to find out if, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the courts moved on
to a more realistic and open approach towards the issues raised by Lawyers. Our WOLEP member
from Spain, Mrs. Encarnación Gema Hervías, shed light on the matter by saying that “The truth is
that the courts have limited themselves to complying with and accepting the changes in
regulations that have been produced on the go during the pandemic, just like the rest of the legal
agents.” However, things were strikingly different across the Ocean, with Mrs. Arydai Prado from
Mexico saying that was not the case in her home country: “Unfortunately not, the courts were not
more open nor more realistic”. In fact, she argued, “This pandemic showed the shortcomings in the
[Mexican] justice system”. Coming back to Europe, Mr. Julien Raum of Luxembourg elaborated on
the situation in his native country:
“Luxembourg has a civil law system based on the Napoleonic Code. Companies are governed by the
Law of 10 August 1915, as amended, which originally took inspiration on Belgian corporate law but
tends, since a modernisation in 2016, to take more inspiration in French laws. Luxembourg business
law universe is based on a conservative interpretation of the law with a liberal twist in a modern and
progressive environment. This creates a symbiosis between liberal views and stable legal framework
that lets businesses, international or national, prosper in a secure environment. Traditionally this
view is accepted and supported by a liberal jurisprudence that tends to be more business friendly
than our neighbours France or Belgium.»
“The main evolution has been the modernisation of the litigation process”
According to Mr. Raum, an experienced Lawyer with a demonstrated history of working in the
government administration offering legal advice to people and companies, “Business lawyers that
thrive in this environment have been confronted to many challenges, especially in the courts that
have seen a slight change in their liberal approach. By expectation to save businesses, courts in
early 2020 tended to have a more business protective attitude. However, this evolution seems to be
stopped, and we are getting back to normal”. But the WOLEP member from Luxembourg also
stressed an important evolution brought on by the pandemic: “However, for a business lawyer, the
main evolution has been the modernisation of the litigation process. In particular, the integration of
“modern technologies” has brought some much-needed changes.”
According to another WOLEP member, Mr. Artur Cichocki of Poland, the Polish courts’ relationship
with business lawyers visibly improved during the pandemic. “From my point of view, courts like
institutions and judges in pandemic times are more understanding. Civil cases have started via online tools. Lawyers can obtain more information about cases via mobile and e-mail. These changes
are good, and I hope they will stay with us after the pandemic.”
One quintessential aspect of the Lawyers’ dealings in this period was their relationship with Clients
who sought their advice and help. Naturally, we wanted to find out whether the Clients’ behavior in
relation to Lawyers had changed in recent years. Were Business Lawyers consulted more in light of
the economic upheaval in 2020-21, and did Clients pay more attention to the Lawyer’s role in their
business affairs? Again, no definite path could be detected, with the scenario differing from country
to country. In Mexico, for example, “There are still many people who don’t call you until contingency
is a fact in their companies”, remarks Mrs. Prado, an expert focused on Compliance, Administration,
Human Resources and Business Management, based in Ciudad de México where she runs her own
Law Firm, Prado & Cantú.
“Clients do not pay us to be technology whizzes – they seek our legal expertise”
A more upbeat tone was struck by Mr. Raum, who, while acknowledging the “unsecure pandemic
environment”, considers the relationship between Clients and Business Lawyers in Luxembourg to
be growing in positive ways.
“Luxembourg Business clientele is composed of professionals with a high degree of specialization
who tend to focus on their main activity. It has always been one of my priorities to support
companies and individuals in all circumstances from the birth until the end of the life of their startup, company, or commercial activity in a way to give them freedom of mind regarding any legal
activity. Therefore, I pride myself in having a relationship to all my clients that involves me well
beyond classic normative legal counselling. This approach has proven to be the right one in an
unsecure pandemic environment”, explains Mr. Raum.
“What undeniably changed is the technology aspect and how I interact with my clients. While I
always remained up to date with changes in technology and always offered clients distance
consultations, virtual meetings have never been common. Since the beginning of the pandemic
virtual meetings are standard while face-to-face interaction with clients are diminishing. I consider
this evolution as positive.
However, it is important to keep in mind that our clients do not pay us to be technology whizzes –
what they seek from us is our legal expertise”, concludes Mr. Raum.
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