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For the first two months, 2020 certainly seemed to be off to a great start. But in March, everything changed, and at an unprecedented rate.  

Within just two or three weeks, the entire UK workforce was turned on its head and the government announced a freeze on the UK housing market that lasted for seven weeks, and put a hold on more than 450,000 transactions. Like many other firms across the country, at Countrywide we had to change a lot about how we work, and very quickly.

Of course, other companies faced challenges and changes of their own, and we were intrigued how life was for them during lockdown. We asked two of our customers to tell us how they adapted to these changes, and what the ‘new normal’ looks like for them: they were happy to share their experiences.

Helen Kelly, is a Director at Douglas-Jones Mercer in Swansea. She has been at home during lockdown with her husband and two children.

How has your lockdown experience been?
My lockdown experience has been strangely normal; our IT department have done an amazing job to ensure that our working practices have not been affected at all. We have been able to work as though we were in the office with no inconvenience for clients.

Have you learned anything new about how you do business that has surprised you?
I have been surprised by the ease with which we were able to switch from office working to home working with no adverse impact for clients. Conveyancing at times can traditionally be seen to be very paper based and we have been able to adjust to working on a mainly electronic basis with little effort. 

Are there any working practices that your firm adopted out of necessity that you will be continuing? Any positives you will be carrying forward?
We now use Microsoft Teams more regularly than we would have done if we were working in the office. We also have team discussions regarding legal issues that clients may face. Previously a difficult case may have been discussed between two individual solicitors in the department, whereas now, these ‘discussions’ are generally conducted via Teams with all of our department solicitors able to add their expertise, and we can find quicker solutions to issues for our clients.

Do you anticipate any long-term changes about the way your firm operates once things have returned to ‘normal’?
I think this experience has taught us where changes can be made to create greater efficiencies, that clients prefer to have electronic communications more often than not, and that we can be more flexible to change our working practices at short notice for the safety of our clients and our staff.

Is there anything you will miss about this time/experience?
No, I think as a modern firm we will be able to take forward the positives from the experience to better enhance the conveyancing process from our clients and our staff alike. 

James Armstrong is a partner in the Real Estate Team at Muckle LLP in Newcastle. He was locked down with his partner Victoria, and 2 year-old son, Alastair.

How has your lockdown experience been?

Tricky! I suspect this is the part where I am supposed to say that it has been a rewarding and surprisingly positive experience. We have invested heavily over the last few years in IT infrastructure to facilitate agile working, and our kit is definitely state of the art. However, successive Governments’ failures to invest properly in high speed broadband have meant that my internet connection isn’t always good enough to allow me to fully benefit from that, but I’m lucky to have some great clients who have been very patient, and also lucky to have been working throughout the period. However, I was literally the last one out of the office and will be the first one back in, when we reopen!!

Have you learned anything new about how you or your clients do business that has surprised you?

I have learned that I use far too much paper – and will be doing my best to reduce that! I have also been hugely impressed by my clients’ ability to simply get on with things, when it would have been so easy to shut up shop and try to ride out the storm. After an initial jolt in late March/ early April, when a few transactions hit the rocks, new developments started to come on stream in May and June, which means that on balance, work levels have remained pretty consistent. People are still buying new houses, and businesses are looking not only at how they can survive the pandemic, but how they can prosper through and after it.

Do you anticipate any long-term changes about the way your firm operates once things return to ‘normal’?

Two things have become clear to me from the lockdown period: a) electronic communication, however good, will never be a substitute for face to face interaction, and that applies to relationships with both colleagues and clients; and b) we have always been a firm which prides itself on having a unique culture. We’re all under one roof and we generally all know each other. If the firm is to retain that culture and the heart that has made it so successful, we are going to need a significant number of our people to be sharing a physical space, a significant proportion of the time.

Are there any working practices that you/your firm adopted out of necessity that you will be continuing? Any positives you will be carrying forward?

From a purely personal perspective, I have to say no, except perhaps that I may have more of an eye on work life balance. So far as the firm is concerned, our general preparedness for any similar future events has now been tried and tested.

Is there anything you will miss about this time/experience?

When things return to normal and I am leaving for work at 6.15am in the morning, I will certainly miss the opportunity to have breakfast with Alastair in the morning, and wonder at how one small boy can make himself look like a living Picasso masterpiece using only yoghurt and fruit.