It turns out that human interaction – actually meeting real, live, 3-D people – is something most of us seem to prefer to doing Teams and Zoom calls. Of course, online meetings are here to stay, and they save time, money, carbon footprints, and allow us to see people's offices, studies, and, indeed, bedrooms, like never before. But actually, seeing people is even better.
And so, with the re-opening of the world, and the drive to generate more business, I am in the very lucky position, being based in London, of playing host to countless lawyers who have again started to come through this city every week. It sometimes feels like London is the capital of the world – and if not the capital, at least the hub; everyone seems to come through here, and many of the 'everyone' seem to like to pop in to our client lounge for a chat and a coffee with us. Which is great. It also turns out that while London is one of the world's great centres, and uses its magnetic force to draw in lawyers by the planeload, other places are busy again too.
Reports from our colleagues in Singapore and Hong Kong tell similar stories: businesses and lawyers are on the move, looking at, listening to, and learning about the latest trends, topics and (come on, ChatGPT, find me an alliterative word; ah, yes: Titbits? Tales? Tactics? Tendencies? Fourth time lucky…) tendencies! With all of this in mind, we have started to plan for our visit to the 2023 IBA Conference, in Paris, later this year. If you'll be there, in full 3D person form, let me know. It'll be good to be interactive, offline.