As Benjamin Franklin was reputed to have observed: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. And while no one could have been fully prepared for the scale of events that have changed our private and professional lives dramatically in recent months, many of the businesses now charting a course through the tumult are not doing so in an impromptu way.

Allan Wernham, managing director Scotland at global law firm CMS has responsibility for its Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen offices and says that when the coronavirus pandemic struck, the firm had already put in place infrastructure that enabled its staff to swiftly adapt to working from home. 

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“Obviously this is  the first time we’ve done it on such a scale,” he says. “But the firm has always focused on its investment in technology and aside from a couple minor issues in the early weeks of lockdown it has all gone very smoothly.

New situation, new solutions

Law firms, like every other business, though rely on more than high-tech responses to unexpected events. “Importantly, we’ve  also had to think about how we're supporting people beyond making sure they have the right tools to do their job and reinforced the emphasis on the wellbeing of our colleagues,” he says. 

CMS is a signatory to the Mindful Business Charter, which was set up as a bilateral collaboration between leading banks and law firms and their clients. “That’s a positive commitment to driving change in how we work,” he explains, “and as part of that we have put training in place for all of our partners and team leaders to make sure they have the resources they need to spot any early warning signs and guide colleagues  towards support when they need it.” 

The firm has also established a network of wellbeing ambassadors – peers who people can approach to seek confidential help and who act as signposts to the various resources at team, rather than management level. “They’re not part of the management structure; rather a network of volunteers across all our offices in Scotland,” adds Wernham.

In some cases colleagues do not wish to speak with their line manager about personal issues so these wellbeing ambassadors provide an opportunity for them to perhaps let off a bit of steam or ask for guidance as to where they can go for further help.

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In addition to adapting to new working practices, the firm has also had to address the challenges faced by its clients as everyone tries to explore the ‘new normal’ of the post-Covid-19 world and as more people work from home, areas such as data security are coming to the fore.

Rebound and remodel

As it approaches 2021, the firm is adopting a ‘rebound and remodel’ policy. “Our focus is on supporting the business community in returning to growth as we face the issues that have arisen out of the pandemic,” says Wernham.

With the current crisis-related activity, changes to existing business structures – and many people under a huge amount of strain – it seems early to talk about identifying opportunities. As the economy recovers, though, there will undoubtedly be opportunities,” he believes.

As a specialist in retail development and investment he has a special interest in the relationship between landlords and  tenants and how that will develop. “The retail sector will continue to undergo a fundamental shift over the next couple of years,” he says.

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A breadth of expertise

“With Brexit also imminent, we are positioning ourselves to help the business community recover from the pandemic, bringing together the expertise that we have from right across the firm, not just in Scotland but internationally.”

And this involves reimagining how a modern law firm actually works. “It’s a very social environment and a lot of how we go about advising our clients involves a high level of social engagement,” he says. The new, remote working environment leaves a gap in terms of that so we’ve done a lot to replicate as best we can how we interact in the office, being much more proactive about making sure that team meetings are taking place and being careful to avoid screen fatigue – because inevitably there is a counterproductive side to this type of working as well.

Valuable lessons of the ‘new normal’

“We’ve all embraced ways of communicating such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, tools that some of us weren’t really aware were on our desktops before March but which have been extremely helpful in getting people together quickly and easily and we’re trying hard to support our associates – for example, in making sure that our internal networks, which were previously very-office based, are now Scotland-wide. There are positive lessons to be learned there that we can take back to the office with us.”

Again, on a positive note, Wernham believes that a profession in which people work very hard to meet high client expectations – and often make personal sacrifices to meet exacting deadlines – there is a growing realisation that the working environment needs to embrace people’s varied circumstances.

“We’re making sure we are as supportive as we can possibly be in this new environment and while we hear a lot about the advance of digital strategy and the death of the office, when people do return the office itself needs to evolve from being a place where you need to go to work into an inviting place where you want to go to work.”

For more information please visit cms.law/scotland