MICHAEL LAVELLE
Managing Partner Lavelle Partners
ACTIVITY When trading restrictions took effect, it quickly became clear that we were dealing with two economies. Clients in the leisure, entertainment and non-essential retail suffered immediately, while healthcare, pharma, tech and distribution saw a significant increase in business.
Fortunately for our firm, our commercial work is primarily in the healthcare, pharma and tech areas, so we experienced an increase in instructions. And property instructions, many of which were in areas unaffected by the pandemic, remained strong.
In litigation, we took on more of an advisory role, as processing cases through the High Court slowed down considerably. That said, we have engaged in many virtual hearings over the last 12 months and cases in the Commercial Court continue to be processed.
We have a long tradition in insolvency law, so as businesses navigated uncharted waters our role as business advisors ramped up quite a bit. In commercial, we have been actively giving advice to the ‘positive economy’, while in the ‘damaged economy’ we are giving advice in relation to shareholder disputes and insolvency-related issues.
REMOTE WORKING Most of our staff continue to work from home. However, people miss the office and the majority want to come back in. Obviously, we are not currently encouraging them to do so, but I think most people agree it is better to have two separate venues – an office where you work and a home in which you live. I like to think we adapted
‘The role of the law firm as business advisor is even more important’
pretty quickly to remote working, but the inability to pop over to someone’s desk with a question, or to go out for a coffee with a client, has made things a little tricky at times.
LITIGATION Motions continue to be heard virtually in both the High Court and the Commercial Court, resulting in some progress in cases. The problem is cases where oral evidence is required. There is a reluctance to have oral hearings during the pandemic and unless all parties agree, an oral hearing is unlikely. In reality, the courts will not be up and running properly again until the vaccine programme is nearer completion.
OUTLOOK We expected a slowdown in property transactions but that has not happened. Commercial law, healthcare, pharma, IT and distribution are either unaffected or showing increases in business. This has resulted in an increased need for legal advice in these sectors.
We’re also seeing an increase in commercial transactions, especially in pharma, tech and distribution. I think the role of the law firm as business advisor is even more important now and will continue to be after the pandemic, as businesses will need legal experts to help them navigate this uncharted territory.