Interview with: Marta Bijak-Haiduk, Partner, Head of Real Estate

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Deloitte Legal from your competitors?

Deloitte Legal provides clients with a distinctive experience and high-quality service through seamless collaboration across various service lines, including tax, business advisory, and accounting, ensuring comprehensive client solutions.

Unlike traditional law firms that may only provide legal advice, Deloitte Legal goes beyond by integrating insights and expertise from other service lines such as Business Advisory, Tax, and Consulting. This holistic view enables us to deliver the most workable and legally sound solutions for our clients.

Our close collaboration with non-legal advisors greatly facilitates teamwork and enhances efficiency, mitigating interpretation risks and eliminating the inefficiencies associated with separate teams. Clients benefit from a comprehensive helicopter view of the different issues at hand, allowing us to propose clear action plans that address their needs effectively.

We are committed to providing end-to-end compliant business solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients.

 

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

In the next 12 months we anticipate to see a significant growth in several legal practices: M&A, energy, labour law and regulatory sectors.

While the general demand in M&A slowed, we can see that M&A are driven by large companies sitting on enormous demand and midsize and smaller companies becoming targets (particularly in technology, AI and energy transition).

Companies are increasingly looking to acquire technology and digital-first companies to stay competitive and innovative. The energy sector is experiencing growth due to the need for sustainable energy solutions and related regulations. As the world shifts towards greener energy sources, legal practices in this area are becoming more crucial to navigate the complex regulatory landscape. Labour and employment practices are growing due to the need to adapt legal regulations to hybrid work model and constant regulations’ updates due to workforce changes (flexibility, diversity and mobility). These factors are driving the need for legal expertise in navigating the evolving labour landscape.

 

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

One of the most significant changes we have implemented at Deloitte Legal is the integration of advanced technology solutions to enhance our client services. By adopting cutting-edge legal tech tools, we have streamlined our processes, improved efficiency, and increased accuracy in our work. This transformation allows us to provide faster legal advice, ultimately benefiting our clients by saving them time and reducing costs. These technological advancements enhance our internal operations and provide value to our clients. Innovation helps us stay updated and address the changing needs of our clients in a digital environment.

 

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

Absolutely, technology is transforming the way we interact with our clients and the services we provide.

For instance, we have implemented advanced document management systems that reduce the time spent on verification of large number of documents during due diligence processes, allowing our legal professionals to focus on other assignments. Additionally, these kinds of systems feature smart extraction of key terms and data points, allowing our legal professionals to quickly identify and focus on critical information.

This enhancement boosts our operations and ensures faster, more accurate, and cost-effective legal services.

 

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

According to my observations, the legal real estate market is currently polarizing. Large law firms are evaluating their position, while many boutiques Polish firms are emerging, indicating market maturity.

In real estate, value-added often comes from lawyers’ experience and ability to address business issues within a business advisory context.

At our legal real estate team, we offer comprehensive legal advice while also facilitating connections between investors and developers or clients seeking to buy or sell property. We are dedicated to ensuring that all parties involved find favorable opportunities.

Deloitte Legal stands out due to its strong capabilities, experience with major clients, and diverse service lines, offering holistic advice to our Clients.

 

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

At Deloitte Legal, we understand the importance of providing consistent and reliable legal services while also guiding our clients through strategic decisions that can impact their long-term success.

In three years’time, I see Deloitte Legal continuing to be a leader in the legal industry by fostering collaboration between different service lines within the firm and embracing innovative technology which shall be one of the most important drivers in the legal industry.

Deloitte Legal also blends legal and business advisory skills to offer clients effective solutions for today’s complex business landscape. This combination is currently one of the top trends on the market. . Our multidisciplinary approach, global reach, and focus on innovation make us a strategic partner.