At the conference, lawyers and accountants enjoyed a programme of business sessions, networking and social activities. An update on the alliance’s global strategy and plans for the region was followed by insights from each local member firm and discussion about potential cross border business development opportunities.
Tanzanian lawyer Shehzada Walli (Stallion Attorneys) led an interactive discussion forum on best practices to ensure a more client-centric firm culture, with groups comparing successes and failures in relation to the use of innovative technology, client communications, adoption of new processes, diversification into new practice areas, and implementation of client feedback.
Representatives from South Africa-based legal tech company Legal Interact joined the conference to give an entertaining presentation on areas impacted by artificial intelligence, such as legal research and document analysis, contract review, invoice extraction and spend management. Attendees were shown real examples of technology that has the potential to revolutionise the professional services sector including translation tools and chatbots.
Liaan Kretzschmar, Client Experience Director at Jaguar Landrover South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa, spoke passionately about how their global business is navigating disruption and change of an unprecedented scale. Motivational speaker, entrepreneur and extreme athlete Ryan Stramrood rounded off the conference in style, sharing his story of “Pushing Past Impossible” on how to develop the right mindset to manage fear of failure and reach goals that may seem unachievable.
“This was the second conference for our African lawyers and accountants, and I was impressed, but not surprised, by the camaraderie that was on display and the willingness of all delegates to freely share their experiences in running their firms and supporting their clients. Many ideas for future projects emerged during the conference that will deepen our connections further and strengthen the alliance in the region,” commented AGA CEO Giles Brake.
“Sharing experiences is key for our African member firms. It helps them to build trust in each other and discover answers to their everyday challenges. Furthermore, deepening their personal connections often leads to them working together on cross border matters with common clients,” he added.
Nobert Phiri of MMM Law Firm was one of the attendees, and commented that the knowledge and resources shared during the conference served to enhance the growth and strength of the members for the benefit of their individual clients.
“The conference afforded us the opportunity to pursue business leads through direct contact and conversations with our colleagues,” he said. “Each member had the chance to present on the current trends/emerging markets in their respective jurisdictions, and this gave us the opportunity to learn about prospective business opportunities in these countries, and how best the members can work together on these projects.”
Brake shared that AGA also has plans to evolve the conference to create stronger synergies between Africa and other world regions where there is investor interest, but that the goals of the conference remain “to develop close relationships between our member firms and to ensure everyone shares the AGA Together as One vision”.
AGA is ranked as a Band 1 Law Firm Network by Chambers and Partners and is one of the largest professional services alliances in Africa with law and accounting firm coverage in Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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