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How has the pandemic affected your clients/the sector your clients are active in and what steps are they taking to secure success in the post-pandemic business environment?
Panic over force majeure clauses in power purchase agreements and the meaning of “material adverse effect” in finance documents pursuant to the COVID-19 pandemic is where the market has been focussed on since March 2020.
Government support is crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic for a number of reasons:
- when many governments are allowing renewable energy projects to postpone their commissioning deadlines with no consequences for concessions this allows for the power purchase agreements to continue without breach;
- gives independent power producers the ability to negotiate reprieves with financiers;
- employees retain jobs.
The pandemic has given rise to an increase in banking and finance litigation as well as litigation pertaining to POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) non-compliance by participants in the financial services sector. As a result, the financial industry has strengthened its operational resilience by planning for the unexpected in the general areas of: risk, digital adoption, processes and profitability, and systems and security – ensuring that they have frameworks in place that account for (and drive) business and legislative changes.
How do you expect your work as a lawyer to change in the coming years?
I anticipate that the scope of work for lawyers will be more rooted in electronic commerce - with lawyers in the financial services sector facilitating local and cross-border transactions electronically. I expect legal practitioners to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their business models to make work efficient and add value for clients. Legal practices must allocate resources towards updating, growing and modernising their technology and data storage in order to remain profitable.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The best advice is to let go of the idea that things could have been any other way. It is important to remain adaptable, open minded and just keep going. You will also be able to enjoy life, both your personal and professional, if you stop worrying about the “what if’s”.
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