What are the biggest challenges facing the Danish legal market in the next 12 months?
Experience over the last two years has shown us that the biggest challenges tend to be unpredictable. Digitalisation of our business is an important step on the road to the fourth industrial revolution and sets the agenda for both our clients and us as a law firm. We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. Added to this come a waxing and waning globalisation as well as climate change. Our clients are facing an environment in transition and incessant regulatory reform, and our priority is to help our clients navigate these waters.
Do you consider sustainability credentials important to your firm’s business?
The growing focus on S&ESG issues has radically changed companies’ business landscape. Many of our clients face more intense scrutiny and increased regulatory requirements. Through our S&ESG client offer, we help clients navigate these challenges, so they can create sustainable value.
Businesses increasingly expect that lawyers proactively support them in predicting and handling S&ESG issues, and they choose law firms with a strong track record. So, credentials, preferably within client-specific sectors, are an important parameter for clients when choosing an advisor.
Have ESG considerations prompted you to re-evaluate the service you provide?
Because each sector faces its own unique sustainability challenges and requirements, we take a sector-based approach to our S&ESG client work. All employees and partners have access to S&ESG training and, all our lawyers are trained in sustainability issues, so they can apply this knowledge to their existing sector expertise.
We support clients at all stages of their sustainability transition. For those at the beginning of their journeys, our support includes developing roadmaps, benchmarking their performance against their peers, and reviewing their reporting and disclosure. For clients at more advanced stages, we help embed change by drafting and implementing policies, and ensuring that S&ESG considerations are included in due diligence reviews.
What sets your firm apart from competitors?
DLA Piper Denmark is a part of the third largest law firm in the world and the only ”truly global” law firm in Denmark and the Nordics. To be a part of a global network with all the inherent possibilities for setting international teams and carrying out assignments as well as drawing on knowledge across borders are factors that differentiate us from our competitors in Denmark.
How active are members of your team in terms of thought leadership?
Globally as well as in Denmark, DLA Piper is actively involved in publishing of thought leadership. Many of our global publications are available on the portal DLA Piper Intelligence and in addition to contributing to international reports and delivering overviews of legislations in jurisdictions throughout the world, we develop local knowledge material, including our podcast (in Danish) Keeping abreast of law.
What are your firm’s policies on diversity and inclusion? Does your firm have any specific diversity initiatives?
We are a part of the diversity and inclusion policy which applies throughout DLA Piper and is part of our international Sustainability Report.
Moreover, there are additional local initiatives, which we implement within the area diversity, and which are described in the section about Corporate Social Responsibility (in Danish) in our annual report for 2021.
What does innovation mean to you? Can you tell us about any specific innovation initiatives at your firm?
Innovation is an important element in DLA Piper’s strategy, and thanks to our dedicated focus on innovation, we have been recognised as Most Innovative Law Firm 2021 by the Financial Times. DLA Piper’s Global Co-CEO, Simon Levine, has also been named Most Innovative Leader and our firm won the award for Most Innovative Law Firm Transformation for its Law& brand.
What technological changes have you implemented at your firm to improve the legal services you provide to your clients?
DLA Piper has under the umbrella Law& developed a number of tech-based solutions aimed at clients. Law& delivers solutions beyond traditional legal services to help your business succeed. From consultancy to cutting-edge AI, it integrates technology and first-class commercial and legal knowhow.
In-house, the most recent examples of legal tech include the implementation of solutions for automatic time recording and document automation.