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28 May 2021 / Dominic Ayres
Issue: 7934 / Categories: Features , Marketing , Profession , Covid-19 , Legal services
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Making the best of black swan events

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How can your firm help clients navigate change in unforeseen circumstances? Dominic Ayres provides some insight
  • Firms that know what their clients truly need—and how to provide it—can position themselves as the trusted partners that clients turn to in times of turbulence.

Given the backdrop of Brexit and the US elections, law firms expected uncertainty and turbulent change in 2020; yet the global breakout of COVID-19, which many commentators have termed a ‘black swan event’, was to overshadow all other concerns. With the country in lockdown, clients turned to their legal advisers to help their businesses adapt and navigate the disruption brought on by COVID-19, and the significant role legal advisers can play in adding greater value to clients beyond routine legal matters became apparent.

Adding value

Requests for information and help came through daily from clients at the height of the lockdown last year, and those firms that could respond by servicing these via workshops, bespoke client notes and more, will have strengthened their relationships

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
NLJ this week: Do Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor meet the misconduct bar?
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
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A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
NLJ this week: Finality trumps freedom in arbitration showdown
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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