Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
One of the products of these technological advancements is dialing tools. In terms of speed, the mere fingers of humans aren’t going to cut it when the name of the game is productivity. Auto and preview diallers assist call centres in dialling the correct numbers and figuring out who to call. So, which one is right for you or your organization?
This article will review the following to determine which solution suits you best: what auto-diallers and preview diallers share in common, and the differences between the two dialing tools. This will also look at the benefits of each solution, as well as each dialler's use cases.
What are the available strategies for boosting sales? When thinking of expanding your business or company, that’s probably the question that comes to your mind.
Any call centre's regular task involves generating leads, nurturing them, and then converting them into customers or clients. Of course, excellent communication with the customer is one of the things that play an essential role in lead conversion. To achieve that task, you need the most appropriate outbound dialler.
Automating calls with dialler software also eliminates various mundane tasks, apart from making excellent communication possible and maintaining it. Call agents don’t have to perform the following anymore when using either an auto-dialer or preview dialler:
Automated solutions, like diallers, act as the brain of your call process even though they can never replace your agents. Auto-diallers and preview diallers help your representatives focus more on maintaining excellent communication by removing their repetitive tasks.
Auto and preview diallers assist call centres in dialling the correct numbers and figuring out who to call.
There’s no such thing as a fully automated system for call centres yet. The closest thing that a call centre management can get in terms of automation is dialler technology. The end goal of this tool is an industrial level of productivity.
Success in call centres depends on how many contact numbers agents can dial. Taking the back seat is personalisation and the ability to perform additional research. That’s why dialing systems rely on the principle or idea that probability will triumph over precision.
It’s pretty clear why fully automating the call center process isn’t possible. A robot can’t respond to a complete range of scenarios appropriately. That’s in the event the lead or customer picks up. However, you can’t be sure what most people will do after realising that they’ve received a call from a recorded message.
There are several significant differences between an auto-dialler and a preview dialer despite both tools helping streamline the dialing process. To understand their differences, you need to take a closer look at each system, their benefits, and who are the most suitable to use each software.
An auto-dialler is a dialling system that makes automatic dialling of numbers possible. The user of the software only needs to upload the list of prospects and immediately start the campaign. Every time a call is picked up, the auto-dialler either connects it to an agent or plays a recorded message.
Success in call centres depends on how many contact numbers agents can dial.
The sequence of the contact list you’ve uploaded is what the auto-dialler will follow once it starts making the calls. It connects the call to any representative available, without missing any single contact. If the dialled number moves to voicemail when unanswered, the agent can then choose to drop it. An auto-dialler saves an agent time by eliminating the need to dial prospects’ numbers manually or recording a voicemail for every unanswered call.
Note that an auto-dialler also gives users the option to activate cool-off time. It’s a handy feature, especially for agents that need to make notes of their previous call before starting a new conversation with another contact. Despite giving users sufficient cool-off time, an auto-dialler can still make up to 80 successful dials every hour.
In this challenging time of the pandemic, cloud-based auto-diallers are also already available. Agents can work from remote locations using such systems.
The following are the benefits that auto-diallers bring to the table for their users:
The primary goal of call centres is to maintain interaction with customers or clients.
In a remote working scenario, auto-dialling systems can be beneficial. They’re also ideal for small support teams. Agents will attend to a single call at a time since there’s only one line needed.
Small to medium-sized businesses can benefit from auto-dialling software in terms of operational and sales efficiency. However, taking maximum advantage of the tool isn’t only limited to business organisations. A single agent or an entrepreneur can also reap its benefits.
Auto-diallers work best for organisations that want to make their communication with clients more personalised and meaningful. Companies can also ensure that individual notes from calls are logged in and saved correctly because auto-dialing software integration with a CRM system is possible.
A preview dialing system is actually an auto-dialler itself. It’s just that before dialing the number, it can make agents aware of essential customer information. Simply saying, before the dialler places the call, an agent can see some vital details about the prospect or client.
A preview dialler gives agents an option to either allow the software to dial the number or skip it based on the information that pops up. This tool makes the outbound calling strategy more result-oriented. It also saves so much agent time.
Another advantage of using preview diallers is the time it provides to agents to prepare, allowing them to give the most accurate solution to every prospect or customer. It helps your representatives communicate with clients in the best way possible because they have the right insights about the person on the other line.
Auto-diallers work best for organisations that want to make their communication with clients more personalised and meaningful.
The following are the benefits that preview diallers bring to the table for their users:
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Blended call centres’ agents and managers can benefit from preview diallers. In these environments, agents have more information on what their customers need, and this data provides them with the necessary insights for more successful conversion.
The use of preview dialing software is the most ideal when you have guided a list of hot leads down your sales funnel. Use a preview dialler if you’re not willing to lose any of them.
One can’t say that one is better than the other when comparing these two dialing tools. It depends on the organisation or a call centre’s situation.
Preview diallers are inefficient when used to deal with a brand new list of leads that requires an initial dial-through. Use an auto-dialler that’s built for speed and efficiency instead, because connecting with prospects will take too much time if you dial numbers one by one. However, turn your prospective customers over to a preview dialler’s care once you’ve already come up with a robust list of leads. Doing so will allow you to take back control, keep yourself informed before dialing, and lose the abandoned calls.
Generally, aspects to consider when choosing between an auto-dialler and a preview dialler are your team’s size and the nature of the calls that your organisation is making. Of course, you should also consider your brand’s recognisability and the amount of personalisation you want for each prospect or client.
No matter what dialing technology you choose, one thing is for sure: they can significantly improve your call centre’s calling efficiency. Diallers make your team an unstoppable force, especially when paired with monitoring tools and powerful reporting.
[ymal]George Orwell once said that political language is “designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”, and he wasn’t wrong. It seems like over the past decade, with the rise of tech and social media, that politicians and influential figures are finding it harder to hide behind their lies as the laymen call them out and demand answers when things go wrong. But how often are they reprimanded?
Sidney Powell - an appellate lawyer from Texas who joined former President Trump’s legal team – reportedly blamed Cuba, Venezuela, the Clinton Foundation, the billionaire George Soros and Antifa, a loosely defined left-wing movement, for somehow making votes for Trump in his presidential campaign late last year, disappear. She is now defending herself against a billion-dollar defamation lawsuit by arguing that “no reasonable person” could have mistaken her wild claims about election fraud as statements of fact.
Lawyers are not allowed to lie — to clients, courts or third parties. But once you get beyond deliberate false statements, the scope of the obligations to truth and integrity become less clear. If caught misleading others, legal professionals can be struck off, but “there are hard questions about when you must be forthcoming and when is it okay to engage in a little trickery”, as said by Bruce A. Green, director of the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham Law School, to the ABA[1]. What lies ahead for Powell is yet to be determined but looking at the connection between politics and mistruths, it is often found like politicians get the easy way out.
More recently, leaders of six opposing parties in the UK are accusing Boris Johnson of “a consistent failure to be honest”. They refer to two codes of conduct that UK politicians are supposed to follow: the Nolan principles and the Ministerial Code. Both stress the importance of being truthful[2], but much of the British political system rests on the assumption that politicians will choose to behave ‘honourably’, leaving fewer sanctions in place for those who defy such conventions.
Johnson has also recently been put against the wall after it was found out that he had been exchanging texts with businessman James Dyson about UK tax laws; this followed the Greensill scandal, where former prime minister David Cameron texted government ministers on behalf of the financial firm that was employing him. Some may have smelt potential fraud or the essence of friendly favours for the well-off, but nonetheless, Johnson stated he will “make no apology”, leaving the nation questioning fairness and transparency throughout the government. But in this case, no one broke the law.
Should lying be against the law?
Dr Alice Lilley from the Institute of Government told Channel4: “Misleading Parliament is a serious matter. The convention has always been that ministers who mislead Parliament are expected to resign, and this is set out in the Ministerial Code. But enforcing this convention is more complicated.
“It is ultimately up to the prime minister to decide what happens to ministers judged to have broken the Code.
“And Parliament has very few powers to punish a minister for misleading it.”
In the U.S., there are laws against making false and misleading claims, and against practices aimed at taking advantage of people.
Those laws, however, are intended to protect consumers from potentially dishonest businesses, not to protect voters from potentially dishonest politicians[3].
As reported in the LA Times, “Political speech receives greater protection because it may be difficult to ascertain if a politician is deliberately lying, whereas businesses are expected to know if they’re making false claims”.
So what can be done? We speak to Sailesh Mehta, a Criminal Barrister at Red Lion Chambers on the matter.
“A lying virus has spread across the body politic. It has always been there, but a new, more toxic variant is threatening democratic life. It’s spread by sections of the media that have given up on fair reporting and a social media which fuels it”, says Mehta.
“Some supporters of our Prime Minister are concerned about his increasing use of lying as a political tool, honed during his days as a journalist – he was sacked on one occasion as a result (remember his misrepresentations about the Hillsborough disaster or about the European ban on bent bananas?). Step forward the Brexit Bus lies as Exhibit A", he expands.
Mehta explains how an infamous Russian propaganda technique known as “the firehose of falsehood”, relentlessly and rapidly fires off falsehoods in the knowledge that they will find a place in the subconscious of fear and prejudice, “…and it works”, he said.
Nonetheless, Mehta believes this torrent of political misinformation can be controlled with simple steps. “It is not beyond the wit of lawyers to produce a workable set of laws to protect democracy from the flood. If a teacher or a doctor lies to us, there are consequences. Any product brought to the market must comply with a raft of legislation ensuring the seller tells the truth about it – the more potent the product, the greater the duty. The same should apply to politicians”, he shares.
The first step would be to make it a criminal offence for a politician to make a public pronouncement which, at the time it was made, the politician knew or believed to be untrue (as proposed by “Compassion in Politics”). “Initially, this could apply in the lead up to a local or national election and any referendum. But then it should be widened.
“Another step would be to “give teeth” to the electoral Commission to prosecute, punish, ban and curtail individuals and parties who persist in demonstrably provable dishonesty”, expands Mehta.
A third measure should make social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter more personally liable for allowing political lies to be disseminated on their platforms. “Again, it is fairly easy to draft legislation in this area, but few in Parliament have the stomach to take on such powerful behemoths.
“And fourthly, immunise the public against lies by teaching them to spot them – this is a long term, but necessary, education project”, explains Mehta.
The law has the potential to rule out political lies, but research has shown that it is only when people feel disenfranchised and excluded from a political system that they accept lies from a politician who claims to be a champion of the “people” against the “establishment” or “elite”[4]. So, I leave you with this question, would the law be enough?
[1] https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2018/december-2018/when-is-it-okay-for-a-lawyer-to-lie--/
[2] https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-what-are-the-consequences-for-politicians-who-lie
[3] https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-01-05/column-trump-election-fraud-laws
[4] https://theconversation.com/why-people-vote-for-politicians-they-know-are-liars-128953
Within intellectual property law, logo disputes are common and often high-profile. The latest involves the French luxury fashion house, Chanel, which has lost its trademark dispute against the Chinese technology company, Huawei. This trademark spat highlights how global fashion houses are keen for their brands to be viewed as synonymous with luxury, style and crucially, exclusivity. In an industry where knock-offs and counterfeit products are plentiful and often damaging to the ‘exclusivity’ aspect of brand identity, protecting logos can be the best way for a brand to maintain its identity and stem the flow of counterfeit goods. However, occasionally such trademark disputes can fail to deliver the desired outcome.
This particular case relates to an EU Trademark Application filed by Huawei in September 2017 for a figurative mark. Chanel opposed this Application in December 2017 on the basis that Huawei’s mark was similar to Chanel’s interlocking Cs logos. Chanel claimed that because of the similarity between the marks there was a likelihood of confusion and that the use of Huawei’s mark, without due cause, would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character of, or reputation established in, Chanel’s earlier marks through their use.
Both of the grounds of opposition relied on by Chanel were dependent on the EUIPO Opposition Division finding similarity between the marks. They did not see the similarities, and so Chanel’s opposition was rejected in its entirety. Chanel appealed the decision, but the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO dismissed the Appeal in November 2019 and upheld the Opposition Division’s finding that the marks were dissimilar.
We expect that global fashion houses will continue to be vigilant when it comes to protecting brand identity.
Chanel sought to annul this decision, and took the dispute to the General Court of the European Union, which promptly dismissed the action. In summarising the Board of Appeal’s analysis of the similarity between the marks, the General Court stressed that the marks must be compared in the form in which they are protected, in other words, exactly how they appear on the Register. Chanel had submitted that the similarity between the marks was more evident if Huawei’s mark was rotated by 90 degrees. The General Court dismissed this line of argument, stating that marks must be considered in the form in which they have been applied for, even if there is a chance that they will be rotated or viewed the other way up by consumers when used on the market.
Whilst the decision is a blow to the company, Chanel still has the option of appealing The General Court’s decision to the Court of Justice of the European Union, so this may not yet be the end of the matter. However, as this latest decision has again found that the marks were dissimilar, and as there are only limited and specific grounds of further appeal, Chanel’s options for proceeding with the appeal would seem to be limited.
This particular case highlights the necessity of overcoming the first hurdle of tests both for the likelihood of confusion, and a reputation claim – establishing that the marks are similar. If the marks in question are not found to be similar, then an Opponent cannot succeed on either of these grounds of attack – even if they claim to have established a significant reputation in their earlier mark. We expect that global fashion houses will continue to be vigilant when it comes to protecting brand identity. However, as this case demonstrates, factors such as the need to compare logos in their registered form same and satisfy the relevant authority that the basic requirements are met, are critical to get the case off the ground.
Whether this is banking or retail, sport or technology, the role of the industry has perhaps never been so prominent in driving positive change in wider society than it is today.
So, what can the legal sector, our sector, do to make a difference?
First and foremost, listen. Listen to our stories. Listen to what we have had to overcome to get to where we are today. Start to understand our journey and the obstacles faced. Think about giving opportunities to people who can be role models for the next generation of lawyers from diverse backgrounds. And ask the question, will we have equal representation tomorrow if we do not have enough role models today?
Marketers and communications professionals often talk of ‘people-like-me-marketing’. Essentially building a campaign or strategy in the image of those who you want to reach. Obvious really. But what if there are no ‘people like me’? How can you reach those people who do not relate to the backgrounds or stories of the figureheads of our industry?
The answer is to provide platforms for them to tell their stories so you can listen, and hopefully learn a little more about the inherent prejudices that still exist in the corporate sector. Which is exactly what the legal sector needs to do too.
My story is typical of a ‘kiddigrant’ – a child of immigrants. In my early school years, I was incredibly aware that I was ‘different’ because of my colour. I was left out, excluded and at times, bullied. As a result, my father signed me up for self-defence lessons.
For a number of years, I did Karate, Aikido and Jujitsu with my dad’s wish being that I could protect myself if needed. And then one day, when I was 14 years old, someone did pick a fight with me at school. I remember it vividly. Children were standing around in a circle, heckling and watching, cheering. Nobody expected it but I did fight back.
And I won the fight.
I am telling you this not because I want to seem tough, but because what happened after this fight was that I suddenly found myself included and respected by my school peers in a way that had never happened before. It taught me that “if people see you stick up for yourself, they respect you.”
My parents told me (regularly) that I would have to work twice as hard and be twice as good as anyone else to get the same chances in life. And like many immigrants to the UK, they pushed me towards such a prestigious profession, choice of doctor, lawyer or accountant. Because they felt that a high-status profession would offer me a buffer from social inequality. Something they saw as inevitable because of my race and my gender. To an extent, being a lawyer has been a shield against inequity, and that underlines the importance of industry in tackling social issues.
In my opinion, racism and prejudice in the workplace have not gone away, but rather it has evolved. The biggest challenge we have is creating awareness and opening eyes to the damage of ‘inherent affinities’.
The damage of the ‘people like me’ mindset.
We all know that business is as much about the relationships you build as it is the results you achieve. Sometimes even more so. At the heart of a strong relationship is because one person ‘clicks’ with another. Those relationships tend to be with ‘people like me’.
To that end, the opportunities, the progression, the promotions, the big deals, the big cases, will go to the lawyers or solicitors who have relationships with the senior partners. And those people tend still to be the white majority.
Indeed, the SRA’s data revealed that “both black and Asian lawyers are significantly underrepresented in mid to large size firms (those with six or more partners). The largest firms (50 plus partners) have the lowest proportion of BAME partners - only 8%.”
This is not direct insult-based racism. It is inherent, systemic and arguably more damaging. Until the worldwide focus on racism last summer, there had been a wide-spread denial that the playing field is not level, and consequently a total lack of effective action to level it.
And so once again, the role of the industry comes into the spotlight.
We can use our workplaces to raise awareness of inequality, we can make sure we give role models the opportunity to inspire, start analysing our own actions, start challenging our own inherent concept of ‘human nature’ and in turn using the economic power of industry to influence change in society as a result.
By Ritu Shirgaokar, Head of Legal, International and Regulatory, State Street and reboot. ambassador
How can law firms protect sensitive client information, now the changing nature of technology means data is no longer under their control? Jeremy Hendy, CEO of Skurio, explains why the profession needs a new, holistic approach to digital risk.
If you’ve been following legal news lately, you’ll know that a growing number of law firms are falling victim to cybersecurity attacks. February 2021 alone saw two major breaches in as many weeks, with hackers reportedly accessing mediation documents and other confidential client material.
Importantly, neither of these cases involved the firm’s own cybersecurity being breached. All the right solutions were in place, and all the patches up to date – yet two of the world’s biggest law firms had to inform clients that cybercriminals may have seen their private information.
This presents a new conundrum for lawyers. In a profession where trust and confidentiality are sacred, how do you keep clients’ secrets when your firm’s data is increasingly outside your control?
Your clients’ data has left the building
It’s easy to see why leading law firms take cybersecurity so seriously. The sensitive information lawyers hold is a high-value target for scammers; in research by PwC, 100% of firms surveyed had been subject to a recent cyberattack.
This data can be used in tactics from identity theft to conveyancing fraud – making it highly attractive to criminals, and meaning a breach can have potentially disastrous consequences for the client.
Once, good IT defences would go a long way towards keeping that information safe. But the changing face of technology, and legal work in general, means much of your data now lives outside your defences and your control.
The need to use the best technology, save costs, and access information from anywhere means third party cloud-based services are now an integral part of law’s IT landscape.
Both big breaches reported in February resulted from issues with a third-party tech supplier. They’re far from isolated incidents; just last May, 193 law firms had data exposed by a legal software platform in the UK – including phone numbers, eye colour, mothers’ maiden names and National Insurance details.
The fact that none of the legal practices concerned were directly responsible for the breach was unlikely to be much comfort to the clients affected.
Human beings are… well… human
The irreversible rise of cloud technology is not the only way your clients’ data is spreading outside your physical premises.
The surge in remote working over the last year is another trend that looks set to stay – with workers reluctant to return to the inconvenience and expense of a daily commute.
Outside your premises, busy colleagues are more likely to use their own devices to connect to your network, download applications without approval, or leave hardware unattended where it can be used or stolen.
But even on your site, and however good your training, human beings will always be fallible – whether they’re absent-mindedly clicking suspicious links, or making other basic errors.
2020 saw a string of malware and ransomware attacks that forced high-profile legal firms to shut down key systems and websites, and in one case allegedly compromised personal correspondence from celebrity clients.
Meanwhile, in the UK, a freedom of information request revealed an astonishing 41% of breaches reported by legal firms to the Information Commissioner’s Office were as a result of employees emailing the wrong person.
Time for an honest view of digital risk
With so much of your firm’s work, data, and technology now out in the world, there’s an important truth to face. The traditional IT security method of fortifying your network’s immediate perimeter is no longer enough. You can’t prevent every cyber breach.
We think it’s better to take a more holistic view of your digital risk, that combines strong defences with a keen eye on what’s happening outside your organisation. This way, you can minimise potential damage by reacting immediately when data or user credentials are compromised, and taking proactive measures when you spot a potential threat.
It’s a more practical approach, acknowledging the realities facing the industry today. We call it Digital Risk Protection.
Using smart automation and alerts, Digital Risk Protection gives you a clearer view of your whole risk landscape. This includes combing the Dark Web for discussions about your vulnerabilities, and signs that your data or credentials are being leaked, marketed or sold. It also monitors the internet for tactics like typosquatting, which scammers can use to target your clients.
This lets you prevent breaches by focusing your cybersecurity efforts around the most important threats, and revoking compromised credentials before they’re used.
Just as importantly, you can act fast when a leak does happen – to preserve client relationships, and show the relevant authorities evidence of your response – instead of waiting for the news to break.
Protect your data, wherever it lives
‘Digital Risk Protection’ performs that monitoring for you. It constantly searches the surface, deep, and Dark Web for your firm’s data and credentials – and alerts you instantly. So, you can take action, prevent attacks, and intervene before your clients’ private information can be used against them.
Through our extended use case support, this can include monitoring for client data, confidential documents, and details of your infrastructure.
Working with Lex Mundi, we already help to protect legal firms from Japan to Colombia, and we understand how the sensitive nature of client data can impact your risk profile. Every day, we see first-hand how breaches – especially those that aren’t your fault – are inevitable. And how much difference a fast, proactive response can make.
If you’d like to know more, please visit us at Skurio.com.
We hear the words “new normal” and “uncertain times” more and more but one thing is certain - health is the ultimate wealth. The world as we know it is shifting and that is why a rapid change in wellness practices is also necessary.
Wellness within law firms will increasingly focus on improving the mental and physical health of their legal talent and one way this can be maximised is by working with health coaches and biohackers to provide a more bespoke approach to the one-size-fits-all corporate wellness approach of days past.
I am no stranger to the legal world. As a former lawyer at Jones Day, I have done those long days and all-nighters, pushing myself to my mental limits and to the point of burnout. I know the demands of the legal industry and understand the pressure lawyers put on themselves and their colleagues. There is nothing wrong with pressure - achieving excellence in your profession is a virtuous goal. However, it can become all too toxic quite quickly. One common observation I have of lawyers is that health is not a priority until it goes awry.
Neglecting mental and physical health is like leaving money on the table. Think how much more success you could achieve if your mindset and physical health are optimised for work performance? To perform at your best, you need to get out of that fight or flight mindset into a growth and opportunity mindset. The body goes where the mind leads it.
Long, stressful hours in front of a computer screen erodes at your mental sharpness. Where long workdays become long work weeks, and long work weeks blend into months, brain performance, such as how you process information, recall memories, and respond to external stimuli will deteriorate, and then age-related cognitive decline also starts to set in. To combat these effectively, corporate wellness programmes have to provide more rigour and cover all elements of health including sleep and recovery, breathwork and mindset, movement and exercise, nutrition choices and eating habits, metabolic health optimisation and an awareness of the environment i.e. light, air, water, indoors vs outdoors.
Common long-term ailments among lawyers tend to include headaches, dry eyes and migraines but these can be alleviated naturally within a few weeks through integrating the use of blue light-blocking glasses, and using red light therapy to support improved mental acuity – the light helps to stimulate the mitochondria within the cells and enhances blood flow to the brain, which helps heal stressed and damaged tissue.
An excessively sedentary lifestyle is another common theme among lawyers. Movement is incredibly important to both physical and mental health. Sadly, our modern lifestyles and work environments tend to reinforce a sedentary lifestyle yet we all know a lack of movement can set off a cascade of negative biological effects both in the short and long term. However, there are ways to optimise your daily step count and incorporate desk stretches and exercises that fit into your work lifestyle.
The lawyers I work with seem to be in a permanent, heightened state of fight or flight, so bringing in daily mindfulness, practising conscious belly breathing or one-minute deep breaths to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) is crucial to preventing prolonged stress.
Quality recovery time helps you to become more physically and mentally resilient, qualities we can all benefit from. Just as an athlete can overtrain, so too can a person overwork at their job. Intermittent stress is effective at building resilience but chronic stress coupled with an absence of adequate recovery, only promotes inflammation and can accelerate ageing-related conditions.
Regular breathwork and mindfulness practices during the workday also boosts flow and creativity, both of which are not optimised at the desk. Increased creativity and ability to enter a flow state will have a positive impact on work as it’s in this state that your motivation, creativity and productivity are at their highest.
Although highly educated and extremely intelligent, lawyers often fall short on nutritional education (as do most of the population). Additionally, ‘time-saving’, desk-eating culture is rampant amongst lawyers but eating whilst working means that both activities are done in a sub-optimal manner, benefiting neither the body nor the file you are working on. Shifting these multitasking habits to get into mastering a single task will help you become more effective in whatever it is you’re taking on.
When it comes to choices of what goes onto the plate, I systematically notice an overconsumption of processed plastic wrapped or pre-cooked, ready-made meals to once again ‘save time’. Time pressure is too often cited but this is why nutritional education is important. Fundamentally, what you eat affects the brain, impacts cognitive performance, as well as energy levels, so is therefore a key element to focus on to optimise your health and performance at work.
There is now an alarmingly high percentage of people in the legal community who are metabolically unhealthy. Being metabolically unhealthy can place you at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and strokes. Optimising metabolic health is about taking a holistic lifestyle approach - it is so much more than just body weight, so demand that corporate wellness programs offer strategies that optimise hormones, lipids, blood sugar levels, organ function, blood pressure, and waist circumference.
Biohacking really resonates with lawyers because it is all about using state-of-the-art technology such as trackers to get quantifiable insights into your unique biology, physiology, and mental state to achieve optimum health, performance, longevity, and vitality. With these deep insights, it provides biological markers that can be tracked and improved. With technology, it is now possible to give recommendations based on a person’s unique requirements. The time of generic, broad-sweeping recommendations and tick-box gym memberships to cover off employee health is behind us, we can now all get tailored recommendations that will have the greatest impact on our wellness.
Although meeting in person has become near impossible, it does not mean that health and wellness has to be put on hold, quite the opposite. With growing physical isolation, it is ever more important to keep a strong bond going between colleagues and executives at all levels. This is where group online workshops, webinars, and virtual classes either live or pre-recorded, which can involve team-building exercises, is beneficial. They make for great team bonding experiences, fostering long-term team support, success, and camaraderie. Private coaching can then be provided in addition to provide a more tailored and personal approach.
Either way, regular corporate wellness workshops is a long-term investment into your executives’ and employees' health, wellbeing, and productivity, both inside and out of work. Remember that health and mental well-being need to be sustained in the long-term. The days of working ‘harder’ without factoring in health are over. It is time to learn about working smarter to optimise both productivity and upgraded health.
When e-commerce first emerged in the late nineties, one of the major hurdles was to overcome consumer inertia. Back then, buying things on the internet required a leap of faith.
Much has changed in the last few decades, and the current COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst and an accelerator for any brands or industries that were yet to fully get on board. The monumental switch to digital channels for products and services has brought many opportunities, but it also offers many challenges to brands which must navigate the complex field of counterfeiting and brand infringement. While COVID-19 has been a positive catalyst for the development of e-commerce in general, it has also brought many new opportunities for online criminals, thereby exposing both consumers and brand owners to the presence of increased fraud, personal data theft and counterfeit products. Further, given that as a result of the pandemic many consumers now engage with their favourite brands exclusively online, the effects of fraudulent online impersonation on a brand’s reputation may be far more serious and long lasting. In order to best respond to the increased threats online, businesses should be mindful of the need for a comprehensive online brand protection strategy tailored to their needs.
Surviving and thriving online
The speed and enthusiasm with which e-commerce has been adopted by brand owners have varied from sector to sector. The luxury industry, for example, was a comparatively late entrant; the online world perhaps viewed as incongruous with the emphatically exclusive experience which some luxury brands were able to convey in their boutique stores. These days, of course, such brands are able to cultivate an equally luxurious online space, crafted to preserve the aura of prestige that defines them, while benefiting from the advantages offered by a global online presence.
For small, local businesses, a hybrid between online and physical commerce is proving to be successful with websites functioning as a virtual shop front for orders that can then be picked up at the store.
Heavily reduced access to bricks-and-mortar stores as a result of the pandemic has left consumers with no choice but to look online for alternatives. The effects of this have been seen in, for instance, the 16.5% increase in e-commerce use worldwide during 2020 with the trend only set to continue during 2021.[1] On the flip side, businesses have had to move or expand online quickly in order to meet this increased demand. To survive, businesses without a presence online have had to move quickly to establish a credible presence online. Indeed, where a brand has failed to establish a presence online (or even on individual social media platforms and marketplaces), they are effectively handing impersonators an invitation to take advantage of this lack of presence for their own fraudulent purposes.
For small, local businesses, a hybrid between online and physical commerce is proving to be successful with websites functioning as a virtual shop front for orders that can then be picked up at the store.
Risk alongside reward
Having an online presence allows businesses to reach outside their local neighbourhoods to potentially global audiences, but it doesn’t come without risks. Fraud, counterfeiting and brand infringement are endemic online, and infringers are difficult to identify and shut down. The pandemic has only exacerbated these threats. For example, phishing, or the practice of deceiving users into handing over sensitive information through impersonation, grew very substantially in 2020, with the number of monthly phishing attacks doubling over the course of the year according to data provided by the Anti-Phishing Working Group[2].
2020 has also borne witness to the worrying capability of counterfeiters to move fast to take advantage of consumer demand online. This is illustrated in a particularly poignant way by the appearance of large quantities of forged personal protective equipment (PPE) on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, which has prompted some brand owners to take action through litigation[3]. Aside from PPE, the same trend has affected medications, with law enforcement having seen a marked increase in the sale of antiviral drugs during 2020.[4]
All this suggests that brand owners would be wise to set up a strategy to combat infringement through online brand protection. However, the best practice for enforcing rights online will vary from brand to brand as well as from channel to channel and platform to platform. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy that can neutralise the threats a brand owner may encounter.
Counterfeiters and other infringers have always moved fast, but in the past few years, they have become especially creative in the channels they use to impersonate brand owners and sell fake goods, bolstering their ability to work around the many enforcement measures that have been established to try to trap them. To catch these moving targets requires a dedicated online brand protection strategy and dedicated support that encompasses rapid enforcement action as well as online monitoring technology.
Indeed, where a brand has failed to establish a presence online (or even on individual social media platforms and marketplaces), they are effectively handing impersonators an invitation to take advantage of this lack of presence for their own fraudulent purposes.
How and where to start
A step-by-step guide for brand owners yet to establish an online brand protection strategy or those looking to update their approach.
To establish an effective and proportionate online brand protection strategy, you need to first take a step back to define the scope of your activities, identify the biggest threats to your brand, define enforcement routes and budgets, and develop a plan of attack that is proportionate to the extent of the threat and the available routes of enforcement action.
As is clear from the examples discussed above, brand owners are at risk from more than that old foe: counterfeiting. The ways in which we all shop and communicate have opened up a range of new online channels that need to be monitored and policed. Not sure where to start? In our experience, the following five content channels are the most important areas for monitoring and enforcement:
Ensure you have registrations in place for all aspects of your product that could be at threat online, and in all markets/geographies of trade. This may seem obvious, but it is an area that is often overlooked. Without the appropriate registrations in place, enforcement procedures such as marketplace takedowns or domain name dispute resolution policies, may not be available to you, forcing you to take more expensive or remedial action to counter these common threats.
Such is the size of the online market: it won’t be cost-effective (or even possible) to take action against every instance of brand damage. Focus instead on the biggest and most damaging threats, and target enforcement action and budget accordingly. Defining a policy that defines action and selection criteria will help here (see step 1), but so too will the use of a tool/service that automates common enforcement activities, such as takedown notices or cease-and-desist letters. This will also lower the cost of such activities and help you to take prompt action.
IP professionals know the importance of online monitoring and enforcement, but they also need to justify its cost. This can be hard when you’re using a multitude of different systems and suppliers, or not using a common dashboard to track your activities and their impact. Fortunately, modern case management systems enable users to run quick and accurate reports, and provide the data needed to drive intelligent decision-making. If you don’t have a clear picture of your activities, get in touch with us to find out how we can help.
The online market moves quickly, and so should you. That necessitates regular tracking and reviews to make sure you’re covering all bases. Your strategy should also be updated when you enter new markets or geographies, or launch new products and services. Depending on your business and its risk profile online, we recommend regular reviews every three to six months to make sure your current policies are fit for purpose.
[1] “Global ecommerce market report: ecommerce sales trends and growth statistics for 2021”, Business Insider, 30.12.2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/global-ecommerce-2020-report?r=US&IR=T.
[2] APWG, Phishing Activity Trends Report 4th Quarter 2020, https://docs.apwg.org/reports/apwg_trends_report_q4_2020.pdf.
[3] See https://www.securingindustry.com/pharmaceuticals/3m-files-lawsuit-against-fake-coronavirus-ppe-sellers/s40/a11811/#.YEecQJNzQ_V.
[4] See https://pharmafield.co.uk/opinion/covid-19-and-the-counterfeit-drug-crisis/.
The impact investment market has a strong focus on tech and one of those areas is EdTech (for the natural reason – improvement of opportunities for all).
Estimated to be a $4 trillion worldwide industry, London’s EdTech ecosystem remains the largest in Europe valued at $3.4 billion and attracting c.40%[1] of all European VC investment. Brown Rudnick continues to lead in advising EdTech companies as the pandemic continues to fuel this surge of interest.
In December 2020 Brown Rudnick advised Arbor Education Partners Group Limited on its sale to The Key Support Services Limited, part of the Darwin Acquisitions Limited group. This was the third EdTech deal of 2020 that Brown Rudnick advised on and a successful exit for two of the firm’s fund clients, Social Venture Fund II GmbH & Co KG (SVF) managed by Ananda, one of Europe’s largest social impact venture funds and Nesta Partners Limited. In April 2020, Brown Rudnick advised lead investors, Nesta and Oxford Sciences Innovation PLC, on the £7m Series A Funding round in online textbook resource, BibliU and in July 2020, the firm acted again for Nesta and SVF on a c.£1.4m investment round into Third Space Learning, a personalised online maths tuition platform.
Brown Rudnick partner, Sarah Melaney, and associate, Max Binney, reflect on the wider trends seen in the EdTech markets and what is still to come.
The 2020 EdTech Market
It’s very well documented that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate of change and forced suppliers to embrace technology. EdTech has really benefited from the pandemic – the pace of change was incredible with the whole system going digital within a matter of weeks. Change to the EdTech market has been driven by the fundamental economic concept: supply and demand. There is greater demand, with consumers (educational institutions and employers) rapidly finding themselves requiring solutions and having had little other choice than to adapt to the “new normal” of providing remote learning and working and embracing the technology that allows them to do so. On the other side is supply, where market players, both old and new, have been adapting, innovating, and growing to provide services and products in markets created by the pandemic. Where traditionally EdTech has played a supporting role with the provision of workflow optimisation and content provision, the market, over the past year, has seen the emergence of more technologically advanced core educational ecosystems (as opposed to add-ons to the existing system).
This growth and change in EdTech is reflected in the investment figures; the total capital invested across the U.S., China and the UK grew by 1.5 times between 2019 and 2020 with an additional $6.4 billion invested in EdTech companies[2]. Traditionally, an arena for VCs, private equity has also been eyeing up the space. Across the pond in the U.S., M&A activity was buoyant, whereas in Europe M&A tended to be restricted to strategic consolidations underpinned with PE investment.
We have also seen the emergence of new funds such as EIM Ventures – the CVC arm of Education in Motion, the parent of a family of K-12 international schools operating in Asia. Where technology was a risk that might compromise a student’s best interest, educators now have confidence in technology and its ability to give their institution the edge.
So, what happens now?
We believe that there are some key themes that will impact the market going forward:
All in all, it seems like EdTech is set to continue thriving. Collaborations will be important for both the platforms and the educators to maximise value.
Written by Sarah Melaney, Partner and Max Binney, Associate at Brown Rudnick LLP
[1] Best in Class: Global Trends in EdTech from a London Perspective dated September 2020 and published by DealRoom.com and London&Partners
[2] The European EdTech Funding Report 2021 dated 15 February 2021 and published by Brighteye Ventures
[3] https://www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/talent-crunch-future-of-work
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/28/almost-half-of-all-young-people-in-england-go-on-to-higher-education#maincontent
Koutalidis Law Firm advised Alpha Bank S.A. on matters of Greek Law, including tax law, on the successful issuance of a landmark Euro 500 million Tier 2 subordinated bond. The issuance optimises the Bank’s capital structure and is a key milestone in the implementation of the Bank’s strategic plan. The Tier 2 bond, listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, has a 10-year maturity callable after five years at a yield of 4.25%. The transaction was completed in February 2021.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) last year had announced they signed a definitive agreement to acquire YellowPepper, a fintech pioneer with proprietary technology and partnerships supporting leading financial institutions and startups in Latin America and the Caribbean. The acquisition of YellowPepper builds on a strategic partnership and investment Visa made in YellowPepper in May 2018. The YellowPepper platform offers a rich set of APIs to enable issuers, processors and governments to quickly and securely access multiple payment rails for many payment flows through one single connection. The acquisition will accelerate the adoption of Visa’s “network of networks” strategy by significantly reducing the time-to-market and cost for issuers and processors associated with accessing innovative and interoperable solutions, regardless of who owns or operates the payment rails.
