Interview with: Jasmin Fichte, Managing Partner

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Fichte & Co from your competitors?

The lawyers at Fichte & Co are focused on the clients’ needs. We offer value for money, detailed knowledge of UAE law, and unparalleled local know-how and network. Our priority is to give competent and trustworthy advice, even when that means fewer profits for our firm, as it is essential for us to establish and maintain a relationship of mutual trust with customers. Many of our clients have been with us for several years, as our added value is that we deeply understand them and their businesses and treat their interests as if they were ours.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

Legal practices are constantly changing. Some changes, driven by innovations and technologies, have started a few years ago and will be more and more vital as progress advances. I refer to the whole branch of the law concerning cybersecurity, data privacy or artificial intelligence. For example, think of the latter. Artificial intelligence opens the door to a whole new type of law that necessarily involves informatic engineers and other sector experts. How do you determine who is responsible in the event of machine error? And what happens if instead of witnesses a judgement will have to rely only on machine data? Not only the lawyers’ practices but the whole legal system will change.

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

The changes and the evolutions of Fichte & Co have been many, since the first day. We are a relatively small and independent law firm, and this allows us to react quickly to client needs, decide on an ad-hoc basis and react swiftly to market needs. We always listen to the clients’ feedback. If something can be improved, I am in first-line working and cooperating with my team to solve the issue as promptly as possible. I wouldn’t say that there was “a main change” that customers benefited from. I would rather say that we have grown with our clients, always developing and enhancing our performance and services to best support them and meet their needs.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Thanks to technology, the communication we undertake with customers is seamless. Many of the services we do with regulators are exclusively online, which takes less time and effort. We utilize less overhead in providing the service, allowing us to be faster and more efficient. We digitize a lot of our work. In fact, most of the work we do is now online, which saves time and costs. Even the meetings are now mostly online, both for business and teleconferencing purposes. In terms of billing, we have been using accounting software for many years, which makes things extremely simple, availing information without depending on an accountant or financial officer; everything is available in front of you on your computer.

We also use technology to document our work; any information from different legislative systems is now immediately available and easy to find. Technology is essential for Fichte & Co, and the impact on our performance and the service we can provide is significantly positive.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

For us, transparency and honesty are fundamental. For example, it happened that a client, who represented a medium maritime company, approached us to start the proceedings for a lawsuit, which would probably have lasted years. Litigation is sometimes inevitable, but at that time, my suggestion was to let us try to mediate before embarking on the litigation path. Some mediation attempts had already been made, but not by our lawyers. The team worked hard to study the case and found the perfect mediation strategy. It all ended in an agreement that made everyone satisfied and saved the company a lot of money in legal fees. For our law firm, a lawsuit lasting years would have been more profitable, but we believe in what we do, which means that our success is achieved only when we obtain the client’s best result, building a relationship of trust and esteem. That is more important than profit. We work hard because we believe in creating value for our clients, and seeing them achieve their goals and their tremendous growth constantly motivates us.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Three years from now, Fichte & Co will still be at the side of its customers. The most important things will not change; the extreme dedication and attention we have for customers, our reliable teamwork, the atmosphere and the passion we share for this work. For the rest, we are always ready to discover and adapt to market changes, evolve with new technologies, and support our customers with all our expertise.