Even the best of intentions are poor indicators of our future actions. Threats to old structures may make us feel uneasy. Such is the human brain. We have a tendency to prefer the systems that bring a sense of reliability and familiarity to our lives.

Had you asked me two weeks ago for reasons to switch full on to Plan D (all gadgets and tools in use in all client engagements) I would have talked about speed, efficiency and transparency combined with a sense of tailoring, active listening and frequent interaction. I might have even thrown in my view on the role of digitalisation in reducing the carbon footprint of lawyering.

Painting a picture of a crisis in which a pandemic is triggering global recession, our clients’ businesses are experiencing serious disturbances, and
people everywhere are not only encouraged to practice social distancing but prohibited from travelling and meetings and even from having printed documents delivered to them by hand, because the person carrying the papers might also be carrying COVID-19? Unimaginable.

The word “crisis” comes from the Greek κρίσις – krisis, originally referring to an unstable situation, a testing time, in which the outcome may
be worse or better depending on our actions. Throughout history, people have survived crisis and been capable of adapting to a changed set of
circumstances. Even the most overwhelming breakdowns may result in breakthroughs but first, a sense of normalcy and stability needs to be
established. Under these exceptional circumstances, safeguarding the clients’ business continuity is our first priority. Understanding our clients’ realities and helping their businesses forward through analysing alternatives and fiding new opportunities is the key. Being able to deliver our services remotely, with the same attention and quality as always before, comes as a good second.

At D&I, we have been working for the best in kind customer experience and modern service delivery for 121 years. During the last couple of years, we
have received more top-rankings in Chambers and IFLR than ever before, with praising client quotes for our business understanding. Most recently, we ranked TOP 3 in key customer experience –categories in the Prospera Law Firm Review 2020, the annual survey for the largest purchasers of legal
services in Finland. In “Client Understanding” and “Forefront of Digitalisation”, we ranked #1. We ourselves like to think that these recognitions stem
from our strong culture of collaboration in which the client is in the centre stage, part of the team. On a more practical note, we believe in our daily routines relating to our D&I Powerhouse service method.

Sometimes routines prevent innovation. Focus is required when creating new habits – crisis or not! Loosely quoting a Finnish futurist, inventor and author Perttu Pölönen: when we focus on where we can be better and more valuable than the dreaded machine, when we focus on what will not (presumably) change, we may make it. The things we focus on will get better. The good gets better.

They say that without the noise in Wuhan, you could hear the birds sing. After the pandemic, there will be some new good things in our lives. We will have found the mute button. Physical distance will have brought us mentally closer to each other in all relationships that really matter. Remote collaborative working will be the new normal. Online signings and closings will be actively in use, no matter how big the transaction or how spread over different addresses the parties are. But some things won’t change. Closing dinners will never feel the same on Skype.