2023 has been characterised by continued economic challenges, geopolitical tumult, and strategic pivots by governments and businesses. Law firms in Asia emerging from this trial by fire have also harvested valuable takeaways to better navigate their jurisdictions’ shifting commercial and political landscapes.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE LESSONS YOU HAVE LEARNED AS A LAW FIRM LEADER FROM WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED, AND HOW WILL THOSE LESSONS GUIDE YOUR FIRM’S STRATEGY GOING INTO 2024 AND BEYOND?
CHRIS LAMBERT, managing partner, Robertsons
On a positive note, 2023 saw the region finally emerge from the shadows of COVID-19. However, we have also found ourselves in a far more complicated and challenging world. Geopolitical issues, wars, turbulent financial markets, and climate change have all presented hurdles to what had previously been a widely anticipated “return to normal” this year. So, the biggest lesson for the management of legal firms in 2023 is to accept that we are operating in a very different business environment and to plan and position our business accordingly.
The emergence of artificial intelligence has also been a hot topic this year. Whilst there are differing views in the profession on this subject, it is important for law firms to see the inevitable and irreversible industry transformation and understand how technology will refine our jobs and services. How law firms strategically and continuously embrace, leverage, and keep up with legal technology advancement and innovations will be crucial in how they are able to compete in the marketplace.
Another feature that has become very apparent to us, in the post-COVID world, this year is that different expectations have emerged with respect to the work-life balance offered by law firms. To retain and develop future leaders and plan for a law firm’s succession, you have to engage with the perceptions of how work is to be affected and accept that many talented young lawyers are no longer prepared to incessantly burn the midnight oil to climb up the corporate ladder. This means that strategies for identifying and selecting the next generation of leaders have had to be rewritten to recognise this fundamental change in perspective.
One phrase that I frequently heard during 2023 was, “nothing is easy in this world anymore.” Whilst this is often used as a complaint - and there is no doubt that the statement is true - it should also be seen as an opportunity by law firms in preparing their
business strategies for the coming years. Compliance in all areas is only going to get tougher, and risk factors have multiplied in recent times. On the other hand, for those firms prepared to take this new environment head-on and continue to deliver value-added services, even in a more challenging environment, there is also no doubt that opportunities abound.
RYU UMEZU, managing partner, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Our management committee is focused on enhancing client relationships by providing more detailed information about the expertise of our partners in different practice areas.
The challenge is that clients often only have a relationship with one or small number of partners and may not be aware of the full range of services and specialisations available within our firm. To address this, we’re having relationship meetings with clients as a way to share information about our firm’s expertise.
We achieved steady growth over the last decade mostly driven by our Tokyo office, but now the emphasis is on our international practice and foreign law enterprise as key drivers for future growth. We’re facing a significant challenge in hiring attorneys for our overseas and Japanese offices due to the highly competitive legal job market.
PRAMUDYA OKTAVINANDA, managing partner, UMBRA – Strategic Legal Solutions
As I often say, “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” The biggest lesson in 2023 remains the same with what I have experienced so far within the last 6 years leading UMBRA, namely, the industry moves so fast, if you do not plan accordingly and adapt quickly, you will miss opportunities.
With ESG and energy transition initiatives being the latest trends, I am happy to report that our firm is at the forefront of these important subjects, and one of the reasons of achieving such position is because we started earlier with our preparation, including starting the talk among key players and stakeholders through our client alerts and participation in regulatory drafting, and training our lawyers intensively on key knowledge of the field, which later allowed us to be involved in some of the first deals related to ESG and energy transition.
We will continue to pay a lot of attention to the next phase of the Indonesian economy and will not hesitate to invest more in preparing our firm’s lawyers and technology to meet the evolving demands of our clients and their related industries.
CAVINDER BULL, chief executive officer, Drew & Napier
In 2023, we were reminded of the importance and power of positive collaborations. We saw this in particular in our regional network, Drew Network Asia (DNA), where we continued to collaborate with Shearn Delamore from Malaysia, Makarim from Indonesia and MVGS from the Philippines.
The year 2023 also saw us welcome Tilleke & Gibbins to DNA. Our collaborative reach now covers nine countries, and we are already seeing great impact. We even have other firms reaching out to us to see whether they can collaborate with us through DNA.
