May Edition 2020

10 Traditional work practices changed forever? There is the feeling that firms’ traditional working practices have changed forever. Weintraub agrees. “We should expect far less face to face meetings in the future and more video conferencing and also far less travel. Our office has learned to adapt to rapidly changing realities and we have become very nimble. Most importantly we have all learned to work remotely. I think this is because of the prevalent use of Zoom and other video conferencing software which has become the norm and therefore we are constantly seeing our clients where as in the past it was usually over the phone and felt less personal.” Closely accompanying availability is speed of decision and efficiency. Phillips adds: “What we have seen though - for obvious reasons - is that clients need to take decisions far more quickly and with less consideration than was the case previously. This means we need to make sure simple and clear advice is given in far less time than would usually be required and in circumstances of higher uncertainty.” Furthermore, as Weintraub points out, “the nature of the work seems to transcend pure legal advice and many of our clients are seeking our advice in all areas including business judgment issues and there is also a feeling that we are all in this together and clients seem to appreciate more when we go the extra mile.” As the race to find a vaccine gathers pace, clients in Israel can be sure that their lawyers have their backs.