TMT annual report
TMT lawyers forced to innovate in service provision
With emerging technologies leading to the creation of new industry sectors, lawyers have to change
the way they communicate with clients
Magda Cocco
Fernando Resina da Silva
Technology has penetrated so many
industries that law firms are being forced
to be more innovative in the way they
provide services to clients from sectors
that, until now, were not familiar with
the world of technology and its potential
for business. Indeed, many of these
types of clients are not fully aware that
they need legal advice on certain issues,
says Magda Cocco, partner at Vieira de
Almeida in Lisbon. “Nowadays, with so
many emerging technologies, we’re being
asked to advise companies acting in new
fields of activity,” she explains. “We are
enlarging and diversifying our client base
and providing services for players that
are different from the more traditional
TMT clients, such as IT, telecoms and
media companies.”
Though there are constant
technological innovations, it can be
some time before such changes lead to
instructions for law firms. This is largely
because clients in the sector are often
unaware of the legal issues affecting their
business. As a result, lawyers have to
change the way they communicate with
such clients in order to effectively get
the message across about the legal issues
they may be facing.
Fernando Resina da Silva, also a
partner at Vieira De Almeida, says that
there has been a buzz around emerging
technologies for some time, but only
in recent years has this translated into
new instructions for law firms. “We
used to read about it, but only in the
last couple of years have we increased
our client base because of it,” he says.
Resina da Silva adds that clients from a
wide range of sectors may have IT people
who understand the basics, but until
recently, many did not understand how
important it was to have legal advice on
certain issues. “Often these clients are
using sophisticated technology without
the technical understanding of how the
value chain works, or an appreciation
of the legal framework and regulations
involved,” says Cocco. “They also need
to be shown how they can do better
business when using new technology.”
Consequently, due to the
“technological invasion” that is taking
place in a wide range of sectors,
including agriculture, oil & gas, aviation,
construction, defence, distribution,
energy, financial services, insurance,
46 • IBERIAN LAWYER • September / October 2016
medical devices, health, tourism and
transport, TMT lawyers are having
to change the way they provide their
services, says Resina da Silva. “We’re
having to adapt our language to the client
we’re talking to, as well as changing the
way we interact, the way we speak and
the way we provide our opinion on the
technology they’re investing in.”
Using soft skills
TMT lawyers also face the additional
challenge of having to gain an
understanding of the different sectors
by using soft skills and technical skills,
says Cocco. “In order to provide valuable
advice in the technological field, besides
a deep knowledge of the legal and
regulatory framework, a lawyer needs
to understand the technology and how
it will be used and what its impact will
be on a specific sector,” she explains.
Meanwhile, Resina Da Silva says it is also
important to have a good knowledge
of the client’s business model and the
technology they are developing. “We are
obliged to understand enough, otherwise
it is impossible to give them advice,”
he says. “Learning fast is an ability our
lawyers have.” Vieira De Almeida’s
strategy for addressing such challenges
that are specific to the TMT sector is
to use the support of a knowledge
management team and also by setting
up “task force” teams. Cocco says:
“These non-practising lawyers act like
dedicated team members and completely
understand our needs – every day they
help us to maintain the quality of our
knowledge in an ever-changing sector,”
says Cocco.
Another major trend impacting on the
provision of legal services in the TMT
area is globalisation, says da Silva. “Due
to globalisation, not only must lawyers be
mobile in order to advise clients in other
worldwide jurisdictions, they must be
aware of all the trending worldwide laws
and policies to remain at the forefront of
any issues,” he adds. According to Cocco,
such is the importance of remaining “one
step ahead” for this particular kind of
client, that TMT lawyers operate very
differently from other departments
within law firms. She adds: “We don’t
have any other team where things
change so much and so fast as in the
technological field,” she says.
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