Stefan Erhag at Delphi Talks New Legal Market Conditions During the Pandemic in Dagens Jurdik
December, 2020 - United States of America
"Why the Legal Profession Lags Behind with Gender Equality"Last autumn, Stefan Erhag made a comeback in the role of managing partner for Delphi in Stockholm. He had previously held the same position during the period 2008 to 2016. He notes that both the market for legal services and the role as MP have changed significantly over the years.Digitization was not much talked about twelve years ago, something that is now a matter of course for a company our size, says Stefan Erhag. Today, there is also, more than ever, a greater focus on Talent Management, Employer Branding and Employer Experience. Sustainability and gender equality are also issues that are higher on my agenda in 2020 than they were in 2008. 10-15 years ago, I do not think there was much talk about this in our industry, which probably also contributes to us lagging behind others on these areas. We should have woken up earlier. As for the market, it feels like the competition is getting tougher, both from our colleagues in the industry but also from new players. What are the most important lessons you have learned during the pandemic? First and foremost, the insight into how our fantastic employees have been able to so quickly change and continue to deliver the same high quality of their work under new and untested conditions. During the past year, we have really had the opportunity to pressure test our digital collaboration ability and environment. Thankfully, we have been far ahead in the digitization issues, so for us the transition went smoothly. The biggest change for me personally was probably spending less time in the office. I like to walk around the corridors, talk to the employees and feel the atmosphere in the office. It's not really possible now, something I miss. Leadership and a strong corporate culture are more important now than ever. Leading at a distance has sailed up as a challenge for all of us and one lesson is to never stop but continue to develop everyone into better leaders today and in the future. We will therefore continue our investment in leadership development at all levels within the company. Productivity has been maintained without the staff being in the office, says Stefan Erhag. In the long term, I believe that the driving force of our employees individually and for the company in general will take a beating if everyone works remotely full time, but I am convinced that a mixed and flexible way of working will continue in the future - at least with us. How do you think the market for business law services will have changed? I believe that we as lawyers must increasingly have an understanding of our clients' business and what drives it, understand when and how our clients' market changes and how we can continuously adapt our services to our clients' everyday lives. Digitization, specialization and flexibility will become increasingly important. Stefan Erhag states that the agency "made some adjustments" to the workforce in some offices during the pandemic of the workforce. Are you planning recruitments in 2021? If so, in what areas? We have had great demand for our services during the autumn and are constantly recruiting to all our business groups to expand these and our teams. We meet current candidates unconditionally as we are happy to tell you what exactly we can offer, whether it means starting right now or maybe sometime in the future. It is of course great fun that we can see such growth, but it is also something we are humble about because we know that it can turn quickly and that in some industries it is very tough in these times. Article originally published in Dagens Juridik on 12-04-2020 |
