Having been involved in litigation for more than 40 years, partly working as a litigation fee earner in UK law firms and then 20 years in eDiscovery, like many, I have seen recessions, “boom and bust” times and now of course the unprecedented difficulties for businesses surrounding the pandemic that is Covid-19. Given that those of us involved in litigation in one way or another for this length of time often say that litigation, investigations, and dispute resolution generally, is “recession and crisis proof” I am wondering about the opportunities and challenges facing SA law firms at this time. These thoughts occurred to me after reading 3 excellent posts and articles on the theme written by people who know what they are talking about, two of them by people known to me personally. The first from David Morley (whom I am sorry to say I do not know), former Senior Partner of global law firm Allen & Overy in which he sums up the challenges within law firms and gives straight forward thinking on the stark realities. Reduce Partners income? Slash junior lawyers head count? Reduce admin and support staff and any other non fee earners? Tremendously insightful article which I commend lawyers in SA to read. The second by Greg Wildesen, a hugely experienced eDiscovery guy, (whom I do know) who posted on Link, “Legal has previously thrived on market crash exits - this time though it is inevitable the legal service delivery model will face significant change. A change for the better for all.”, following an article in the UK Times to the effect that an outbreak of litigation is inevitable Finally, the third by Vince Neicho of Integreon, London and formerly with Allen & Overy for more years than he can remember heading up eDiscovery there (I am happy to have known Vince for more than 15 years), in which he refers to the cyclical nature of litigation and offers advice and hope as to how to deal with it through outsourced review. So what can SA law firms learn from all that is happening and what has been written and are they already reacting? Well some certainly are because anyone can see, now, that litigation is rising rapidly in SA at the moment even if the majority of cases surround actions brought against the Government in connection with their alleged mishandling of lockdown regulations. Similarly, we are seeing an increase in investigations, with, no doubt, more to follow now that the Zondo Commission on State Capture is resuming this month. My point is that the smart law firms will not only survive this crisis but prosper from it. Careful, sound, long-sighted decisions need to be made to avoid “knee jerk” reactions that involve slashing staff. Similarly, the increase in contentious work should not be seen as an open invitation to increase staffing levels. Rather, work smart, manage the workload, and prepare for an increased workload by taking advantage of technology and such operations as outsourced document review. Using technology is of course my main interest – the increased use of eDiscovery technology to materially assist with litigation and investigations. It is incontrovertible that using the technology reduces the cost and time in a case but it also reduces risk and manpower. Difficult times call for decisive actions and a positive attitude and I call on SA law firms to take advantage and step up.