DLA Piper’s multi award-winning programme, What In-house lawyers Need (WIN), was launched in 2010 and has grown into a network of over 8,000 members worldwide today. DLA Piper developed a research programme, designed to help members of WIN by sharing deeper insights on their peers’ challenges, priorities and plans during the pandemic. This would in turn boost membership by demonstrating the value of WIN.

In mid-2020, we surveyed in-house lawyers from around the world, asking them to share their experiences during the pandemic; how they and their organisations have adapted to remote working; how their legal team’s objectives changed; and what they think the new normal will be.

We received survey responses from over 230 in-house lawyers globally, the vast majority of whom (over 75%) were senior lawyers, general counsel and heads of legal. We also interviewed three of the firm’s most valued international key clients, incorporating their insights into the report and recording podcasts to be featured as part of the broader marketing campaign.

Client and internal reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Almost 200 people joined the live launch event on Zoom, which consisted of a presentation of the findings, followed by a panel discussion with the three clients. Within a month of publication, there were almost 700 report downloads globally. Feedback from members was extensive, praising the valuable contribution the research had made to their own planning and operations. As testament to this value, in the three months following launch there were over 200 new member registrations – an uplift largely attributed to the research.

“This year’s research programme delivered results beyond expectations, helping us to meet our twin objectives of providing valuable insights to WIN members and significantly boosting new membership figures. It’s even provided the insight we needed to formulate our 2021 engagement programme.”
Raisa Ibrahim, International Marketing and Business Development Manager, DLA Piper